Standardising the collection of patient-reported experience measures to facilitate benchmarking and drive service improvement

Abstract

Patient experience teams in NHS Wales' Health Boards and Trusts are working across the country to collect patient experience feedback from members of the public who access health care services. Although this work is advanced in many areas, there is currently no way of benchmarking across organisations, reducing opportunities for shared learning. We aimed to work with patients and colleagues across Wales to agree a set of universal Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) questions. Working with patient experience teams, patient groups and Welsh Government, the NHS Wales Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) and Effectiveness Programme team has agreed a national set of PREMs questions for use across Wales. This process led on from previous work and included patient focus groups, patient experience leads and clinical input. Patients using secondary care services in Wales will be invited to complete the agreed PREMs survey along with patient outcome measures, via an electronic platform. This will provide a consistent method of data collection which will allow us to benchmark across hospitals and organisations in NHS Wales, identifying areas of good practice, as well as areas where patients report poorer experiences. This will allow local patient experience teams to target more in-depth experience gathering initiatives and carry out appropriate improvement programmes, making better use of resources. Identifying and sharing good practice will allow NHS Wales to advance patient experience, while triangulation with patient and clinical outcomes will drive the Prudent Healthcare agenda.

Patient‐reported experience measures are essential to improving quality of care for chronic wounds: An international qualitative study

“…Over the past several years, there has been a growing international interest in developing patient‐reported experience measures (PREMs) as adjuncts to traditional outcome‐based measures of quality 23‐30 . PREMs allow patients to provide direct feedback on objective processes of care in order to drive quality improvement among clinical services 27,28 .…”

“…Over the past several years, there has been a growing international interest in developing patient‐reported experience measures (PREMs) as adjuncts to traditional outcome‐based measures of quality 23‐30 . PREMs allow patients to provide direct feedback on objective processes of care in order to drive quality improvement among clinical services 27,28 . PREMs that measure patient satisfaction have been shown to improve patient engagement and compliance with treatment, foster patient loyalty/retention, reduce medical malpractice, and increase provider satisfaction 27‐30 .…”

“…PREMs allow patients to provide direct feedback on objective processes of care in order to drive quality improvement among clinical services 27,28 . PREMs that measure patient satisfaction have been shown to improve patient engagement and compliance with treatment, foster patient loyalty/retention, reduce medical malpractice, and increase provider satisfaction 27‐30 . Research has demonstrated that PREMs correlate with clinical processes of care, and it is important to understand the relationship between these measures and how they may inform one another when evaluating quality 29 .…”

“…Although these measures represent key benchmarks for patient safety, their ability to objectively incorporate the patient voice in quality assessment and provide specific data to inform quality improvement methods is limited. PREMs have potential to improve patient‐centredness and increase the efficiency of care, as well as to generate actionable data for quality improvement 23‐30 . The purpose of this study was to understand patient experiences and health care processes that impact quality of care for chronic wounds from the patient perspective using qualitative research methods.…”

Elevating the discourse on experience in healthcare’s uncertain times

“…The issue also delves into topics delving into measurement and technology, two other key factors of the Experience Framework, represented by great articles including a look at engaging Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMS) 7 and an exploration of efforts in Canada to develop a nationwide survey on acute care patient experience 8 which reveals both the opportunities and challenges found in just such an endeavor. This is interesting as globally more and more organizations and national systems are trying to determine the best ways in which to measure experience performance and success.…”