Can the Subjective Aspects of Health be Measured and Visually Displayed Without Harming Patient Experience: A Randomized Control Trial

Musculoskeletal patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs; measures of levels of discomfort and incapability) were originally designed as tools for clinical research as were other self-reported measures of the subjective aspects of illness such as mental health measures. PROMs and mental health measures are increasingly used in clinical practice with individual patients. A few areas for improvement are noted in the use of questionnaires in musculoskeletal specialty care, including relevancy, understandability, and their confusing use in heath strategies. The investigators sought to assess the impact of an enhanced and more personalized self-reported health measurement strategy to address some of these opportunities by developing a brief set of items addressing levels of discomfort, incapability, mental, and social health designed to feel relevant to musculoskeletal specialty care and resulting in an easy-to-understand display that can be a communication tool for patients and clinicians.