Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) as an intervention: A comprehensive overview of systematic reviews on the effects of PROM feedback

Objectives Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) have emerged as a promising approach to involve patients in their treatment process. Beyond serving as outcome measures, PROMs can be applied to provide feedback to health care providers and patients, thereby offering valuable insights that can improve health outcomes and care processes. This overview offers a comprehensive synthesis of the effects of PROM feedback, contributing to the evidence-based discussion on PROMs’ potential to enhance patient care. Methods Following Cochrane Collaboration recommendations, this overview included literature reviews across diverse treatment areas, investigating the impact of PROM feedback on patient health outcomes (including quality of life, symptoms or survival) and care process outcomes (including communication, symptom identification or clinical practice). The methodological quality of the evidence was assessed with a modified version of AMSTAR 2 and the potential overlap of primary studies was quantified. Results were narratively synthesised. Results 40 reviews grouped into four categories of treatment areas were included. Overall, their methodological quality was low. The overall overlap of primary studies was 2.2%, reaching up to 15.7% within specific treatment areas. The results indicate that PROM feedback may enhance quality of care processes, while its effects on patient health outcomes remained less conclusive. Conclusions PROM feedback positively influences the interaction between physicians and patients across the included treatment areas. Further research is needed to comprehend the trickle-down effects of PROM feedback and how to enhance its potential in yielding health benefits for patients.