Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) as proof of treatment efficacy

Introduction In recent years, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have become increasingly popular in clinical practice and clinical trials. In this paper, we highlight the need for introducing measures to control for the bias associated with these inherently subjective measures and combining PROMs with objective outcomes, which do not depend on judgement, experience or performance. PROMs measure the subjective elements of patients’ conditions, including health-related quality of life, pain intensity, activity limitations, participation restrictions, satisfaction or adherence to treatment and help to evaluate the burden of disease and treatment from patients’ perspectives.1 Originally, PROMs were used in pharmacological research to assess treatment effects in conditions such as cancer, in cases where the cure was not possible, and quality of life became the primary concern.2 In the last 20 years, the use of PROMs has increased considerably,1 3 and, currently, those outcomes...
Source: Evidence-Based Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Open access EBM opinion and debate Source Type: research