Ageing is creating policy challenges for most developed countries and increasing the pressure on health and social care systems. The health status of patients is best described based on their own reports and quantitative data concerning factors such as functional disability, psychological status, pain, falls or cardiovascular risk, are critical to follow changes in patients’ condition and response to therapy. Standardized information concerning health status and co-morbidity risks can be collected easily and effectively from a ‘patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) questionnaire’ completed by the patient. Such data allow accurate description, months or years later, of changes in status. Without such records, neither the patient nor the health professional can remember the patient's earlier status reliably. This article will discuss the concept of PROMs and how they can be implemented into standard clinical practice.
