The collection of Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) is a vital part of evaluating health services. As the developer of a care coordination platform, we have observed a growing number of healthcare providers seeking innovative and efficient ways to gather PREMs and PROMs.
PREM questionnaires measure patients' perceptions of their experience while receiving care. Since PREMs are all about the experience, patients might feel the same event, in the same hospital, in the same care pathway, slightly differently, and for that reason, there is a real need to collect a large amount of high-quality and well-structured PREMs to be able to draw statistically valid and realistic conclusions.
Some forerunners are already talking about ePREMs (Electronic Patient-Reported Experience Measures), which are PREM questionnaires collected online.
PREMs can be collected through several channels, such as online, through an app, F2F, SMS, paper format or a phone call. No matter how the PREMs are collected, the following table summarises the most common PREMs themes.
Many healthcare providers collect PREMs using a single questionnaire at the end of the care process, covering the entire pathway. While this approach offers a comprehensive evaluation of the overall patient experience, it does not capture more detailed insights into which specific steps patients felt went well and which could be improved.
A single, lengthy PREM questionnaire at the very end of the care pathway can be problematic. Some patients may be unwilling to spend 15–20 minutes completing it, whereas five minutes may be acceptable. Longer questionnaires risk lower response rates, as some respondents may abandon them partway through. The more questions a survey contains, the greater the likelihood that patients will rush through, reducing the quality and reliability of the data collected.
Our customers offer a mobile app to their patients, helping them navigate the care process with ease. The app sends push notifications and reminders to keep patients well-informed about the next steps in their care pathway. This also creates an excellent opportunity to automate the collection of PREMs at each stage of the process. As patients become familiar with the app, response rates tend to increase.
1) Specific data for each step.
Short split questionnaires provide specific data on each step regarding the care process, and it is easier for a patient to recall what happened today or yesterday than two weeks ago.
2) What went well and what needs improvement.
Collecting specific data at each step of the care process helps hospital management identify where patients’ most critical concerns lie, pinpoint inefficiencies, and highlight areas of good practice. Recognising providers and staff for a job well done is just as important as addressing mistakes and preventing potential issues. The quality of service provided by healthcare professionals has a significant impact on a patient’s overall care experience, so it is vital to invest in developing and maintaining high service standards.
3) The number of responses.
Splitting the large PREM questionnaire into smaller units can increase not only the quality and the reliability of the responses, but also the number of responses.
4) Data Reporting.
Once a large number of PREMs have been collected, a good reporting tool helps in visualising and analysing the data for the decision-makers.
One example of the short questionnaire is The Nordic Patient Experiences Questionnaire NORPEQ, which uses short 8-item questionnaires and includes what are judged to be the most important aspects of experiences for patients. Another example is the Generic Short Patient Experiences Questionnaire GS-PEQ.
See how Buddy Healthcare digitally automates patient-reported outcome (PROMs) and experience (PREMs) collection.