Utility of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Clinical Trauma Practice

SUMMARY: The integration of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) into orthopaedic trauma practice has become increasingly important as health care shifts toward value-based, patient-centered models. While traditional clinical metrics such as radiographic healing and range of motion remain essential, they do not fully capture the functional and psychosocial impact of traumatic injury. PROs provide a means of assessing outcomes directly from the patient perspective, including pain, functional recovery, and quality of life. In orthopaedic trauma, the acute and heterogeneous nature of injury presents unique challenges in clinical decision making, recovery assessment, and long-term outcome evaluation. PROs can enhance shared decision making by aligning treatment strategies with patient goals, providing insight into recovery trajectories over time, and offering a more comprehensive understanding of functional outcomes. In addition, integration of PRO measures into clinical workflows supports more patient-centered care and may contribute to quality improvement initiatives and value-based reimbursement models. Despite challenges, including loss to follow-up, incomplete data collection, and variability in injury patterns, continued refinement of PRO implementation strategies and advancements in data integration and predictive analytics offer opportunities to expand their clinical utility. PROs are an important tool for advancing the assessment and delivery of care in orthopaedic trauma.