JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Electronic patient-reported outcome measures (ePROMs) are essential for clinical practice and research. The growth of electronic health technologies has provided unprecedented opportunities to collect information systematically through ePROMs.

Objective:

Electronic patient-reported outcome measures are essential for clinical practice and research. The growth of electronic health technologies has provided unprecedented opportunities to collect information systematically through ePROMs.

Methods:

This scoping review considered articles published between 2017 and 2022 that were identified through PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, CINAHL, and PsycINFO searches. We used Arksey and O'Malley's five-step framework to delimit and target the initial search results, from which we established the following research questions: 1) Are ePROMs communication facilitators? 2) To what extent do they improve their decision making? 3) Are institutions and their digitization policies barriers or facilitators? 4) Is further evidence required for routine applications?

Results:

Twelve articles were included in this review. According to various published studies, using ePROMs facilitates this decision-making process because their recording can generate alerts that allow us to manage the process better. Measuring prognostic factors allows for a broader understanding and prediction of treatment toxic effects and survival, enabling physicians and patients to stop toxic treatments and make decisions earlier. The studies conclude that it improves the decision-making process, enhances dialogue and the depth of conversations, and is a factor of approximation in the doctor-patient relationship. It improves feedback and facilitates better interpretation of the entire process, including improving survival and associated costs.

Conclusions:

Routine collection of remote ePROMs is an effective and valuable strategy for providing real-time clinical feedback. In addition, it provides satisfaction to patients and professionals. Optimizing the use of ePROMs leads to a more accurate view of health outcomes and ensures quality patient follow-up. It also allows us to stratify patients based on their morbidity, creating specific follow-ups according to their needs. However, data privacy and security are concerns when using ePROMs to ensure compliance with local entities. At least four barriers were identified: cost, complex programming within health systems, security, and socio-health literacy.