General FAQs

• What is JointPRO?

JointPRO is a remote web-based tool that captures Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs), giving feedback to the patient, and relaying real-time information to the care provider.

• What are PROs? 

-    “A Patient Reported Outcome (PRO), otherwise know as a Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM), is a series of questions that patients are asked in order to gauge their views on their own health.”¹

-    “PROMs seek to ascertain patient’s views of their symptoms, their functional status, and their health related quality of life.”²

-    “PROMs measure health by comparing a patient’s health at different times – and thus the outcomes of the care received can be determined.”²

-    “The use of PRO instruments is part of a general movement toward the idea that the patient, properly queried, is the best source of information about how he or she feels.”³

• What is the need for PROs?

“To measure is to know and if you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it” – Lord Kelvin

Measuring, reporting and comparing outcoes that matter to patients is critically important to determine which interventions are most likely to lead to sustained, long-term health for patients. What's more, it has been globally recognised that PROMs can play a supporting role in helping patients and their doctors make informed treatment decisions; engaging and empowering patients, and improving outcomes. 

• What is the need for JointPRO?

JointPRO aims to overcome the challenges associated with the systematic, longitudinal tracking of PROMs. Historically, providers have been confined to a paper-based method of data capture which is not only expensive, but also limits the scope for this information to be used in the clinical management of patients (as well as in performance management and effectiveness studies). JointPRO offers a low-cost, convenient, efficient method for capturing PROMs, and provides patients and their doctors with real-time access to this data so that it may support clinical decision-making. 

Patient's self-reported health is evaluated using established PROMs instruments, as well as a novel PROMs instrument that has been developed in our Lab. The latter is unique in enabling each patient to set their own personal aspirations pre-operatively, against which the success (or otherwise) of the intervention is determined. This heightens patient relevance and sensitivity so that we are better able to evaluate which interventions are most effective, as defined by patients themselves.

• How does JointPRO address this need?

JointPRO encourages patients to login and score themselves at regular intervals, pre- and post-operatively, so that changes in health over time may be reliably assessed. This quantifiable patient-reported information is accessible in real-time to patients and their clinician(s) (where consent has been granted).

JointPRO enables patients to track their progress over time, whilst viewing their scores in the context of their own individual aspirations. This facilitates patient partnership with the medical team by providing a platform for patients to co-own their surgical episode - empowering them to set personal aspirations, make treatment decisions and direct their functional rehabilitation. JointPRO provides clinicians with a valuable tool to support informed decision-making and actively monitor their patients. Critically, it obviates the need for unnecessary clinic appointments, enabling ‘smart’ targeted patient reviews. The data collected from patients may also contribute to effectiveness studies or help assess the relative clinical quality of providers - with the ultimate aims of a) delivering optimal patient care, b) maximising patient experience, and c) achieving success for patients, from their perspective.

• Who is JointPRO for?

JointPRO is for patients with long-standing hip or knee pain, healthcare professionals and researchers.

• How can JointPRO help me? 

To find out how JointPRO can help you, click here 

• When was JointPRO developed?

JointPRO began evolving in 2010 and has since undergone several phases of development to enable us to refine its functionality to best meet the needs of our users.  The current version of JointPRO was launched in January 2014.  

References

¹ Devlin N.J., Appleby J. Getting the most out of PROMs. Kings Fund publication 2010.

² Black N. Patient Reported Outcome Measures could help transform healthcare. BMJ 2013

³ FDA 2006