Objective

The team aims to implement Patients Know Best (PKB) as the digital platform for collecting and managing Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs). This transition replaces paper-based surveys, ad-hoc tools, or disparate systems with a single, patient-centred solution. By embedding PROMs into PKB, the Trust can capture meaningful patient feedback, support clinical decision-making, and meet national reporting requirements efficiently.

Currently, PROMs collection is often inconsistent, burdensome for staff, and fragmented across services. Patients may receive paper forms, third-party surveys, or none at all. Introducing PROMs within PKB ensures standardised, secure, and accessible data collection, directly linked to the patient’s health record.

Key Considerations

Before rolling out PKB PROMs, the team should define clear goals, baseline metrics, and expected outcomes. Key factors include:

• Patient demographics
  Assess whether patients can engage with digital PROMs via web or mobile, and identify barriers such as illness, accessibility needs, or lack of internet access.

• Current workflows
  Review existing PROMs collection methods (paper, Excel, third-party tools). Redesign workflows so PROMs are embedded within PKB at relevant care points (e.g., pre- and post-surgery, long-term condition monitoring, beginning, middle and end of treatment).

• NHS strategies and compliance
  Ensure alignment with NHS England requirements for PROMs, ICS digital priorities, and national quality reporting frameworks.

• Clinical team requirements
  Adapt PROMs to specialty needs (orthopaedics, oncology, mental health, etc.), ensuring that data supports clinical conversations and service evaluation.

PKB for PROMs: Benefits

Using PKB for PROMs offers several advantages:

• Improved patient engagement: Patients can complete PROMs securely at home, with reminders and easy access.

• Integrated data: PROMs feed directly into the patient record, accessible to both patients and clinicians.

• Operational efficiency: Reduces reliance on paper, manual data entry, and fragmented systems.

• Compliance and reporting: Meets national standards for PROMs collection and supports Trust-level outcome reporting.

• Continuous improvement: PROMs data enables service evaluation, quality improvement, and benchmarking.

Open

Pre-Metrics for a Team

Patient engagement and empowerment

• Metric 1: Current PROMs completion rates
  What to measure: Percentage of patients who currently complete PROMs (paper or digital) and response timeliness.
  Why: Establishes baseline for measuring improvement in completion rates with PKB.
  How: Audit existing PROMs return data across services if they are being used.

• Metric 2: Patient satisfaction with PROMs process or lack of
  What to measure: Patient-reported ease of completing PROMs and perceived value. If patients think it would be useful for their care and treatment. 

Why: Baseline insight into patient experience before PKB rollout.
How: Short survey alongside current PROMs collection.

Communication efficiency and reducing administrative burden

• Metric 3: Staff time spent on PROMs collection
  What to measure: Average time nurses/admin spend distributing, chasing, and inputting PROMs manually.
  Why: PKB automation should reduce workload.
  How: Staff diaries, audits or survey

• Metric 4: Method of PROMs collection
  What to measure: Proportion of PROMs collected by post, in clinic, or digitally.
  Why: Shifts towards digital can reduce cost and delay.
  How: Audit current processes, what is the time cost if a patient doesnt bring in their PROMS sent in the post

Operational efficiency and costs

• Metric 5: Cost of PROMs collection
  What to measure: Spending on printing, postage, and manual data entry.
  Why: Quantify cost savings achievable with PKB digital collection.
  How: Finance and admin audit.

• Metric 6: Data quality and accessibility
  What to measure: Proportion of PROMs captured in usable format (digital, structured) vs. non-digital/unstructured.
  Why: PKB improves data quality and make outcomes easier to analyse.
  How: Audit sample of PROMs submissions.

Staff and organisational impact

• Metric 7: Staff satisfaction with PROMs process
  What to measure: Staff perceptions of current PROMs workload and usefulness of data.
  Why: PKB aims to improve workflow and data value.
  How: Staff survey.

Methodology for Collecting Pre-Metrics

• Data Audits: Review current PROMs collection methods, completion rates, and costs.

• Surveys: Short, targeted staff and patient surveys on current PROMs experience.

• Time Studies: Record time spent by staff on PROMs distribution, collection, and inputting.

These pre-metrics can be adapted to any service or specialty. Please contact your PKB Success Project Manager for support with tailoring PROMs implementation to your team.

Further Information

• Benefits of PKB for PROMs: Secure, efficient, patient-centred data collection

• SMART Goals for Implementing PROMs: example goals and premetrics to create before go-live

• Capturing Digital Outcome Measures: examples outcome measure questionnaire templates and workflow