Science AMA Series: I’m Judy Baumhauer, professor of Orthopaedics at the
University of Rochester and UR’s medical director of PROMIS, a
computerized assessment system that captures patients’ perspectives on
their care. AMA!
Abstract
Hi Reddit! I’m Judy Baumhauer, a professor of Orthopaedics at the
University of Rochester and medical director of PROMIS, a computerized
assessement system that captures and tracks patients’ perspectives on
their care. I am an Orthopaedic surgeon, and medical director of the
University of Rochester’s program to incorporate PROMIS across our
entire medical system. Our goal is to invite every patient to share
their perspective on the effectiveness of their health care so we can
learn from patients, and improve the overall quality of care we deliver.
PROMIS is a National Institutes of Health-sponsored system that was
developed at Northwestern University. It’s been shown to be a very
accurate way to measure how well a patient is progressing. The system
asks patients a variety of questions on their pain, physical function,
and state of mind, or mood, to assess their health care outcomes. It
uses smart testing and asks the following question based on the answer
to the prior question. This way the patient does not get the same set of
questions at the next patient visit. At the University of Rochester, 30
programs use PROMIS in their outpatient clinics and more programs are
continuing to adopt it. We offer the assessment at every outpatient
visit and participation is voluntary for patients. We hand patients a
tablet when they check in for their appointment, and they spend less
than 3 minutes answering multiple-choice questions about their pain
level, mood, and ability to manage everyday tasks like walking, exercise
and housework. When patients complete the survey, their scores go into
their health record, and their health team can view that day’s results
– plus their previous scores– on a computer before or during the
patient appointment. Health teams use the patient input to assess how an
individual patient is progressing; collectively, the data can yield
insights on the benefits of particular therapeutic approaches. Patients’
input on what worked for them – and what didn’t – is building a kind
of health care “trip advisor.” But rather than being an online
reference for other patients, this tool will be a road map for health
providers as they seek the best care pathways for future patients. Many
health care organizations around the world are interested in the
potential for patient-reported health assessments, but it can be
challenging to add this activity to clinical environments that are
already very busy. UR is one of the world leaders in designing a system
that works well in a clinical setting, and puts patient insights to work
in improving care. We’ve been benchmarked by academic medical centers
from the U.S., Europe and Asia who are working to adopt PROMIS in their
clinical environments. I’ll start answering questions at 1 p.m. EDT.
AMA!