PROs: The Key to Patient-Centered Care
Wave Health is an ePRO platform that helps cancer and chronic illness patients track their treatment and get personal AI-driven insights. But what exactly is a PRO? And what implications does it have for patient care and health outcomes? We’re breaking down patient-reported outcomes and how they’re leading to more integrated, efficient, and patient-centered care.
Patient-reported outcomes, or PROs, are pieces of information about a patient’s health that come directly from the patient — such as information on their symptoms, their functionality, and their overall physical, mental, and emotional health.
It may seem intuitive to consider this data during a patient’s health journey, but traditional patient care tends to neglect this important perspective. Usually, treatments are evaluated against a certain set of physiological or survival outcomes, e.g., did the medication successfully shrink the tumor? Side effects or quality of life changes experienced by the patient might only be considered once they become extreme. In contrast, examining PROs alongside clinical outcomes provides a more comprehensive assessment of a treatment’s ability to not only treat a person’s illness but to improve their entire wellbeing.
Research has shown that reporting patient outcomes, specifically symptom information, can actually improve clinical outcomes by changing the way patients are cared for.
One study had a group of cancer patients track their symptoms in a Web-based system during their treatment. They found that 31% more of these cancer patients who tracked their symptoms experienced improved quality of life than those who didn’t track. These patients also experienced 7% fewer emergency room visits and 4% fewer hospitalizations, compared to the non-tracking group. The results suggest that PRO-tracking allows for more responsive care — adjusting protocols as patients started to experience adverse effects, not well after. Subsequently, better symptom management and overall functionality can have positive impacts for treatment adherence and survival.
The way PRO data is collected matters too — if done well, it can also help providers deliver more streamlined and efficient care.
For PROs to make a difference, information must be successfully communicated from patient to provider. Too often, this is conducted through paper forms or quick, on-the-fly conversations where important information tends to slip through the cracks. Digital patient intake processes, like Wave, can make the lives of both patients and providers much easier. Information can be shared in real-time, without the burdens that come along with scheduling appointments, recalling experiences on the spot, and tedious data entry. The process is streamlined, automated, and convenient — ultimately leaving physicians with more time to do what’s most important, supporting their patients best.
PROs and ePROs are undoubtedly paving the way towards a health care system that is more integrated, efficient, and personalized. Learn more about the Wave Health platform powered by TTI here.
