PROs are any information on the results of healthcare that comes directly from patients without being modified or interpreted by health professionals.

A patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) is a survey that captures a patient’s self-assessment, or personal feelings, regarding their health status. Surveys can be anatomical, covering specific body regions such as a hip or knee, or can be functional, with Health-related Quality of Life (HRQL) questions related to physical function, mental attitude, mobility, social function, and bodily pain. Surveys may ask patients questions regarding pain and stiffness with activities such as sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, or performing activities of daily living.

PRO data reflect the patient’s perspective on the outcome of surgery, and in conjunction with other clinical measures can provide a fuller picture of the impact of care.

Here are a few reasons to use a registry for the collection of PROMs:

• Track the full episode of patient care
• Meet quality initiatives like the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) / Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) Patient-reported Outcomes Performance Measure (PRO-PM), the CMS Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), and the CMS Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model. Learn more about our CMS IQR THA/TKA PRO-PM resources here.
• Collaborate with certifying bodies to meet certification requirements
• Completed PROM scores for further analysis
• Dashboards for comparing to national benchmarks

The AAOS Registry Program collects various PROMs for each Registry. Our recommended measures are consistent with what is required for CMS programs.

• View American Joint Replacement Registry Data Elements
• View American Spine Registry Data Elements 
• View Fracture & Trauma Registry Data Elements
• View Musculoskeletal Tumor Registry Data Elements
• View Shoulder & Elbow Registry Data Elements

Registry Program participants have a variety of ways for collecting and submitting PROMs:

• Our PRO Portal can be utilized to either email surveys to patients or allow patients to use the Portal’s Kiosk Mode in a private practice setting.
• If participants already have an established method to collect PROMs either electronically or by paper, they can submit PROMs scores as part of their normal data upload to the Registry Program.
• Participants that use a third-party vendor to capture PROMs can have the vendor submit data on their behalf if the vendor is part of our Authorized Vendor Program. See a full list of Authorized Vendors. 

In addition to providing flexibility as to how patients can receive and subsequently complete the surveys, the PRO Portal also provides tools to monitor the compliance of survey completion.