Background:
Patient Generated Health Data is also known as Patient Reported Outcome Measures or PROMs. They are a series of questionnaires patients are required to complete before receiving care at the UT Muskuloskeletal Institute in Austin. They cover both physical and emotional wellbeing and allow the institute to track the progress and outcomes of their patients accessing the validity of their care programs. The clinic recognized a significant decline of response to the questionnaire after initial treatment and saught our help in identifying and addressing the reasons for the decline of engagement.
Goal:
How might we advance user engagement and visualization of active and passive forms of PGHD for individual level functions including decision support and shared decision making, and aggregate level functions, including care redesign and population health measurement within learning health systems?
Approach:
Engage patients and educate them about patient generated health data to increase trust, strengthen understanding of their personal importance and improve response rate to surveys.
Synthesis:
Our research revealed several key insights that we organized in two groups (patients and clinicians). We subsequently united several to created our recommendations:
1)The structure of the forms is not user friendly or inclusive, which influences their usage and patient response.
2)The significance of mental health questionnaires differs for patients and physicians.
For Patients:
questions regarding mental health = too personal/irrelevant
For Clinicians:
questions regarding mental health = important data that informs the direction and plan for treatment.
3)When a patient is well-informed, their engagement increases leading to better care delivery.
4)Because the clinic processes are fragmented, PROMs is not explained at all, so patients do not correlate mental health with physical care.
Using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research, we:
1) Toured the clinic to assess both the delivery and experience of gathering data from the patients and clinicians use of the data within the clinic. We observed clinic flow and processes and performed intercepts with patients filling out forms.
2). Conducted in-depth interviews with patients, clinicians and clinic staff to gain valuable data on the perception and experience of the questionnaires, as well as their usability.
3). Created journey maps and experience charts.
Research Methods:
Where is PROMs being lost?
Project Type:
Role:
Client/User:
Date:
Location:
Service Design
UX Reasearcher/Designer
UT Musculoskeletal Institute
April 2024
Austin, Texas
Solution:
Based on our research, observation within the clinic, and interviews with patients/clinicians our team found that patients were not aware of the importance of the Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) surveys or how they were utilized by their care team to improve their care, as well as, the care of future patients. Therefore, patients did not see the significance of participating in the surveys over months after they received care from the clinic.
Our team suggested adding educational information (in the form of posters/pamphlets) in multiple contact points within the clinic and integrating a visual representation of PROMs information during the consultation between clinician and patient to reinforce their importance and use within the clinical setting.
Patient Generated Health Data
service design projects
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