Valuable, but not useful: Barriers to use in implementation of patient reported outcomes

Abstract

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures can capture a patient’s perspective on their health. In an effort to increase use of PROs in ambulatory practice, an app-based survey tool was tested in nine diverse ambulatory settings. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) PRO FHIR Implementation Guide was used to modify an existing app. The app was utilized in nine diverse ambulatory settings with ninety patients. Nine interviews with patients and nine interviews with providers were completed during the data collection process to better understand the facilitators and barriers to implementation. The interviews revealed that human computer interaction, survey relevance, and clinical context could all have a significant impact on the success of a PRO app implementation.