Patientrapporter

Patientrapporter are reports provided directly by patients about their health status, symptoms, functioning and well-being, without interpretation by clinicians. The term is used especially in European and Nordic health contexts to describe information that captures the patient perspective in care, research and quality measurement. A related distinction is between patient-reported outcomes (PROs), collected as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), and patient-reported experiences (PREMs), collected as patient-reported experience measures.

PROMs assess symptoms, functional status and health-related quality of life, while PREMs focus on patients’ experiences of care, including communication, access and overall satisfaction. Data are collected through standardized questionnaires, digital surveys, in-clinic interviews or patient portals, and can be gathered before, during or after treatment. They may be general, using tools like the EQ-5D or SF-36, or disease-specific; modern item banks such as PROMIS are also used. PREMs are employed to monitor care processes and service quality in hospitals and other settings.

Uses include supporting shared decision-making, monitoring response to treatment, informing clinical guidelines, benchmarking performance, and guiding quality improvement and research. Advantages lie in capturing the patient perspective, improving patient–clinician communication, and enabling outcome-based care. Challenges include response burden, missing data, language and literacy barriers, cultural adaptation, privacy and data security, and interoperability with electronic health records.

Overall, patientrapporter form a core component of patient-centered and value-based approaches in health systems, emphasizing the patient’s voice in care and evaluation.