Noonan VK, Lyddiatt A, Ware P, Jaglal SB, Riopelle RJ, Bingham CO 3rd, Figueiredo S, Sawatzky R, Santana M, Bartlett SJ, Ahmed S

Background

There is a shift towards making health care patient-centred whereby patients are part of medical decision-making and take responsibility for managing their health. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) capture the patient voice and can be used to engage patients in medical decision-making.

Objective

The objective of this paper is to present important factors from patients’, clinicians’, researchers’, and decision-makers’ perspectives that influence successful adoption of PROs in clinical practice. Factors recommended in this paper were informed by a patient partner.

Discussion

Based on themes arising from the Montreal Accord proceedings we describe factors that influence the adoption of PROs, and how PROs can have a positive effect by enhancing communication and providing opportunities to engage patients, carers, and clinicians in care. Consideration of patient factors (e.g. health literacy), family support and networks (e.g. peer-support networks), technology (e.g. e-health) and healthcare system factors (e.g. resources to implement PROs) is necessary to ensure PROs are successfully adopted. PRO evaluation plans most likely to succeed over the long-term are those incorporating PROs identified by patients as necessary for self-management and that coincide with providers’ needs for collaboratively developing treatment plans with patients and families.