Automating Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Following Hand Surgery

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Health Informatics
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly vital in value-based healthcare.
• Electronic PROMs (ePROMs) offer a promising method for collecting patient metrics.
• Hand surgery outcomes can be effectively monitored using ePROMs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the response rate of patients undergoing hand surgery who use electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMs).
• To identify patient characteristics associated with ePROM completion after hand surgery.
• To assess the clinical utility of ePROMs in hand surgery follow-up.

Main Methods:

• A HIPAA-compliant web-based system distributed ePROMs (VAS for pain, QuickDASH) to hand surgery patients across five institutions.
• Eligible patients (≥18 years) received ePROMs at 3, 6, 12, 24, and 52 weeks postoperatively.
• Patient satisfaction was assessed via a concurrent questionnaire.

Main Results:

• Of 6458 eligible patients, 70% completed at least one ePROM; 28% completed all five.
• Incomplete responders had higher baseline QuickDASH scores and worse outcomes (VAS, QuickDASH) throughout follow-up.
• Incomplete responders were less likely to be satisfied with their surgery and more likely to have workers' compensation insurance.

Conclusions:

• Automated, email-based ePROM systems are effective for survey distribution in hand surgery.
• ePROMs show potential for clinical application, especially in outpatient settings.
• ePROMs enhance the collection of patient metrics, supporting value-based care initiatives.