The use of routinely collected patient-reported outcome measures in rheumatoid arthritis

This study systematically reviewed commonly used patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), routinely collected in clinical practice, and evaluated objectives of their use. An additional survey conducted among identified RA registries provided additional information about collection of PROMs. Medline Ovid and Embase were searched for observational studies using data of RA registries/cohorts, published between 2011 and 2016. The search combined a validated search algorithm for PROMs and RA. Study characteristics, objective, registry, country, type of PROMs collected, and time interval of collection were systematically recorded. The survey asked about PROMs collected by the registries, timing, response rates, and barriers to collection. Ninety-eight articles from 15 countries were identified making use of 37 registries and large cohorts. Thirty-three PROMs were collected routinely, with VAS, EQ-5d and HAQ being the most used tools. Health domains reported the most were functional assessment, pain and patient global assessment. Despite the wide variety of collected PROMs, foci of the articles were similar and reported results narrow. This review suggests rethinking the role of PROMs in rheumatology research to use this information as broadly as possible, including evaluation of treatments, economic analyses, and decision-making based on patients' experiences at system, provider, and physician level.