Patient-reported outcome survey may provide accurate measures with low completion burden
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Published results showed a patient-reported outcome measurement survey for physical function may have a small burden to patients in terms of time commitment while providing accurate measures of postoperative functional improvements.
“Our study noted that [time to complete] the [patient-reported outcome measurement information system-physical function] PROMIS-PF did not significantly influence postoperative outcomes following [minimally invasive lumbar decompression], suggesting a low burden to patients of administering this questionnaire,” Kern Singh, MD, told Healio. “By incorporating the PROMIS-PF questionnaire into their spinal practice, surgeons may gain better insight on patients function with minimal burden of survey completion at preoperative and postoperative follow-up timepoints.”
Singh and colleagues evaluated PROMIS-PF scores, as well as VAS scores for back and leg pain, preoperatively and at 6 and 12 weeks, 1 month, and 1 year postoperatively among 91 patients who underwent minimally invasive single-level lumbar decompression from 2015 to 2020. Researchers evaluated a minimum clinically important difference (MCID) for PROMIS-PF and VAS back and leg scores, and calculated time to complete as the difference in start and stop time for completed questionnaires.
Results showed patients had significant improvements in PROMIS-PF scores, as well as VAS back and leg scores, at all postoperative time points, with most patients achieving a MCID. Researchers noted no significant difference in time to complete at any time point. Although researchers found no significant correlation between PROMIS-PF scores and time to complete at any time point, they noted a correlation between PROMIS-PF scores and VAS back and leg scores.
Perspective
Back to TopJoseph D. Smucker, MD, and Jaclyn M. Demeter, PA-C
The authors of “Impact of time to complete PROMIS-PF surveys on the scores of patients undergoing lumbar decompression” aim to assess several metrics: the time burden on patients relative to completion of patient-reported outcome measures over the duration of their care and the effect of survey length on the quality of data collected.
Evidence-based medicine is utilized in health care to provide a reliable understanding of patient outcomes. Through the consistent use of patient-reported outcome measures, providers may assess these clinical outcomes in a manner that complements our understanding of other assessments, such as spine imaging and neurologic improvement.
At Indiana Spine Group, we utilize a custom, electronic patient-reported outcome measures database, the Indiana Spine Registry. With this modern toolkit, we can share data with national registries, such as the American Spine Registry and the Cervical Spine Research Society Registry. Innovative database efforts help us to enhance local and regional care and provide opportunities for us to share consistent data with national organizations that have a similar health care mission. Collection of patient-reported outcome measures also provides us with additional insight into patients’ perception of their success with an intervention, such as surgery.
Pairing patient-reported outcome measures data with objective clinical measures creates an opportunity to advance our collective understanding of the interventions we provide. This study is encouraging from a practical perspective as it suggests that patient-reported outcome measures data collection did not materially change the time burden for patients over the course of their follow-up nor did consistent patient-reported outcome measures data collection significantly affect the quality of the data gathered. Patients have a unique opportunity to “pay it forward” as they add value to both their current care and the future of health care through their participation in prospective analysis of outcomes. These methods of data collection will likely continue to propel medicine forward and enhance future patient care.
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