THE ROLE OF PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOME MEASUREMENT (PROMs): FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITALY, TUSCANY REGION AUTHORITY ASKS FOR THE PATIENT ASSESSMENT OF CARE. AT SANT’ANNA SCHOOL, THURSDAY, MAY 17, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR FITZPATRICK GIVES A SEMINAR ON IMPL
Raymond Fitzpatrick has been Professor of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Oxford from 1996. He is currently National Program Director for NIHR Health Services and Delivery Research. His research focus is on the evaluation of health services, and the use of evidence from patient reported outcomes and measures of health status and patient experience. In the UK, a national PROMS program was introduced in 2009 mandating the use of PROMs for NHS patients in relation to selected elective surgical procedures.
Public reporting of health care providers’ performance standards and service quality assessments have been accepted widely among patients across Tuscany and Italy. In recent months, the Tuscany Region authority has introduced the Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) to assess the quality of care delivered to patients from the patient perspective. The seminar on the adoption of PROMS validated questionnaires by Professor Raymond Fitzpatrick will take place at Sant’Anna School on May 17 at 2.00 pm (aula magna). The Healthcare Management Laboratory at Sant’Anna School has collaborated with Tuscany Region authority and surgeons Serafino Carta, Franca Melfi, Manuela Roncella from Siena and Pisa Hospitals implementing the PROMs in three clinical procedures: hip and knee replacements, robot-assisted surgery and breast reconstruction. PROMs will assess the health gains after surgical treatment using pre- and post-operative surveys.
“For the first time in Italy, Sant’Anna School has recently supported Tuscany Region introducing the digital PROMs, said Sabina Nuti, director of the Healthcare Management Laboratory and the project scientific coordinator. To rapidly administer surveys, calculate scores and results, the data need to be electronic. ePROMs are a powerful tool as they provide real-time data about patient symptoms and needs. Almost a year has passed since this pilot study started. We are honored to share this innovative project by public institutions in Tuscany and learn from Raymond Fitzpatrick and the UK experience. The role of ePROMs is more challenging to identify but potentially more positive, particularly if they facilitate patient personalised care and health-related quality of life”.
