Patient-reported outcomes

Study Shows Patient-Reported Outcomes Valid & Reliable for Adverse Events of Cancer Treatment

Posted on by Gina Uhlenbrauck

In a study recently published in JAMA Oncology, researchers found that patient reporting of adverse events of cancer treatment using a new scale gave valid and reliable assessments that correlated with standard measures of functioning and quality of life. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed a patient-reported outcome (PRO) version of its Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), which is the standard system for reporting toxicities of cancer treatment in clinical trials. The PRO-CTCAE was then tested among more than 900 patients undergoing treatment at 9 cancer centers. As described in a commentary by Benjamin Movsas, MD, these results are encouraging for PROs to be integrated in informing treatment recommendations, symptom management, and even labeling decisions.

Read more about PROs in the Living Textbook chapter on this topic.

Computer Adaptive Testing Approach to Patient-Reported Outcomes

Posted on by Gina Uhlenbrauck

Michael Bass and Maria Varela Diaz of the Department of Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, have kindly given the Living Textbook permission to post their presentation (link opens as a PDF) about how to use an application programming interface (API) to create a computer adaptive testing (CAT) program that integrates patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures with an institution’s electronic health record (EHR) system.

With a CAT approach, PRO assessment can cover a wide range of question/response items with increased precision. In their CAT application, the authors describe a clinical use case for a mobile health solution, using measures from the NIH-sponsored PRO Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) domain framework, in which a health assessment is issued by a physician, administered to a patient via phone, and then sent back to the EHR.

You can read more about CAT in the Patient-Reported Outcomes chapter of the Living Textbook.

The Diane Rehm Show Features PCORnet

Posted on by Karen Staman

On Thursday, April 17, The Diane Rehm Show, a nationally syndicated news and call-in program carried on National Public Radio, aired a program titled The Promise and Perils of a New Project to Share Individual Patient Records. Susan Page of USA Today led the discussion on PCORnet: the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, which is supported by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Dr. Joe Selby, the executive director of PCORI, describes how PCORnet will take advantage of the incredible quantity of clinical information in electronic health records to conduct much-needed research on the relative effectiveness of different medical devices, drugs, and other medical therapies. Click here for a transcript of this program, or listen to the full episode below:

Listen now: The Promise and Perils of a New Project to Share Patient Records