In the era of value-based care, healthcare providers are increasingly recognizing the importance of actively involving patients in their own treatment decisions. Value-based care emphasizes the quality over quantity of healthcare services, focusing on health outcomes rather than the volume of services delivered. This represents a shift from a fee-for-service approach to one that rewards you for both the efficiency and effectiveness of the care you provide.
As measurements of patients’ health status, symptoms, and quality of life that are reported directly by the patients, patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are well-aligned with value-based care principles. It’s a simple yet powerful concept that places patients at the center of their own healthcare, making them active participants rather than passive recipients. In this transition from volume to value, PRO results become more than just data points — they provide key insights into the quality of care from the patient’s perspective.
However, the true potential of PRO results can only be unlocked when you go beyond just collecting this data and start proactively using it in your decision-making processes. Instead of merely checking the box of collecting PROs and leaving it there, you need to apply this valuable data to create meaningful, actionable strategies, and enhance care delivery.
Enhance the Patient Experience
Healthcare today is not just about treating illnesses or managing symptoms. It’s about fostering a patient journey that respects and addresses individual needs, preferences, and values. In other words, it’s about enhancing the patient experience.
PROs offer a unique opportunity to meet this goal. By paying attention to PRO results, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your patient’s health status and their concerns, fears, and hopes, ultimately enabling you to tailor a more personalized and patient-centric approach.
Consider, for example, the management of chronic pain, a condition where the patient’s personal experience can vary widely. For one patient, their PRO results may reveal that despite following a prescribed pain management regimen, they’re still experiencing high levels of discomfort. This insight provides you with an opportunity to reevaluate the treatment plan and introduce additional strategies such as physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, or alternative medication.
Another patient might report difficulties not with pain levels but with the side effects of the prescribed medication, such as drowsiness or nausea. In this case, you can use PRO results to consider alternative medications with fewer side effects, improving the patient’s comfort and overall quality of life.
Inform Treatment Decisions
PROs are equally impactful when it comes to making decisions about the right treatment. You often have a range of treatment options available for a given health condition, but which one will work best for the individual patient? Here, PRO results can provide invaluable guidance.
Comparing PRO results across different treatment options for the same condition allows you to get an idea of which treatment might work best from the patient’s perspective. It’s a shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to one that considers the individual’s unique experiences and perspectives.
For example, in diabetes care, there are several treatment options available. The traditional approach to managing this condition includes regular blood sugar monitoring, insulin therapy, oral medications, a healthy diet, and regular exercise. However, each patient experiences their disease differently, and as such, their treatment needs may vary.
Imagine two diabetes patients. The first patient reports that, while their blood glucose levels are under control, they’re struggling with the dietary restrictions and the burden of constant monitoring, leading to stress and diminished quality of life. PRO results for the second patient, on the other hand, show that while their blood glucose is well managed, the side effects from their oral medication are impacting their daily activities.
To improve the satisfaction and adherence to treatment of the first patient, it’s possible to consider introducing technology such as continuous glucose monitoring systems to reduce the burden of frequent testing or consult with a dietitian to create a more flexible dietary plan. Meanwhile, to reduce the impact on the second patient’s day-to-day life, switching to a different medication with fewer side effects or recommending an adjusted dosing schedule might be a better option.
Either way, this approach driven by PRO results allows you to tailor diabetes management plans that not only aim to control blood sugar levels but also improve the overall treatment experience and quality of life for your patients.
In other words, by using PRO results in this manner, you aren’t just treating a disease — you’re caring for individuals with their unique experiences, preferences, and challenges, which is the essence of patient-centered, value-based care.
Take Action with Patient-Reported Outcome Results
The active use of PRO results offers a unique pathway to enhance the patient experience, make informed treatment decisions, and move closer to a truly patient-centered healthcare system. This isn’t something that might happen in the future of healthcare. It’s a shift that’s happening now, promising a more patient-empowered and outcome-driven healthcare landscape.
Recognizing the potential of PROs in a value-based care context is only the first step. At the same time, effectively leveraging them may seem challenging, but with SocialClimb, it becomes a lot simpler and more efficient.
Our robust survey feature allows you to design, distribute, and analyze customizable surveys for valuable patient-reported data. By asking targeted, relevant questions, you can draw a comprehensive picture of the patient experience and the effectiveness of treatments from the patient’s perspective.
Once the survey data is collected, with our advanced analytics, you can highlight key trends, identify common concerns, and spotlight areas for improvement. This data-driven approach ensures that PRO results actively influence your care delivery and decision-making, rather than being a mere token gesture.
In addition, our follow-up system can improve the response rate for surveys, ensuring a larger sample size for more accurate analysis. This is a significant advantage, given that one of the challenges in gathering PRO results is often inconsistent patient responses.
The active integration and utilization of PROs serve as a driving force toward the transformation of healthcare delivery. By streamlining the survey process and maximizing the response rate, SocialClimb enables you to fully harness the benefits of PRO results, subsequently enhancing patient care and leading the way in value-based care.
