Two complementary pilot projects will serve as vital foundation work for the implementation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) across MPCCC hospitals, and inform future improvements to patient care and quality of life.
The collection of PROMs and PREMs assists clinicians to identify patients’ symptoms or concerns, facilitates appropriate management and provides opportunity to include the patient perspective in assessing quality of health care.
MPCCC’s study of PROMs and PREMs for patients with pancreatic cancer, will partner with clinicians and patients from across MPCCC health services, to monitor and measure common pancreatic cancer problems, quality of life and patient experience. Participating patients will complete an online questionnaire at regular intervals and the data and will be integrated into an existing clinical quality registry for pancreatic cancer, the Upper Gastro-intestinal Cancer Registry (UGICR). The patient-reported data will help clinicians to address the patients’ needs in real time, and will be used by hospitals to inform service enhancements, and improve quality of care for future patients.
“People living with pancreatic cancer often have a very high symptom burden and many of their needs – including information needs – are not being adequately addressed,” said Professor John Zalcberg, AM, Head of the Cancer Research Program at Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and the Chief Investigator.
“It is anticipated the pancreatic cancer questionnaire will help patients, especially when they are not in regular contact with their health service, to feel that their concerns are important, that they are connected to their clinicians and can get the help they need” said Prof Zalcberg.
MPCCC is also piloting a model for the real-time clinical collection of PROMS and PREMS with oncology patients at Monash Health. Participants will be surveyed immediately prior to a consultation with their treating clinician, so their medical and supportive care needs can be appropriately addressed as they arise.
“This research will help to optimise care and outcomes for all patients. It will start from the point of asking them how they are feeling, what their needs are, and allowing their oncology teams to respond immediately with information to address those needs,” said Professor Eva Segelov, Professor and Director of Oncology at Monash Health and Monash University, and co-Chief Investigator in the project.
Based on evaluation and learnings from the Monash Health pilot, and with multi-disciplinary input from each of MPCCC’s partner health services, the project will deliver an MPCCC-wide implementation plan for the real-time clinical collection of PROMs and PREMs.
The longer-term benefits of successful implementation of this project and subsequent roll-out across MPCCC sites include better patient management and quality of life outcomes, improved clinical efficiencies and workflows, and reported patient outcome data to inform service level evaluations and further research efforts.