A new demonstration study from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) combined patient-reported survey data with clinical outcomes and costing data on hip and knee replacements for the first time. The report determined that there were statistically significant correlations between patient reported experience measures (PREMs) and clinical outcomes, PREMs and patient reported outcome measures (PROMs), and costs and PROMs.
By using patient reported data alongside other data sources, this demonstration report was able to measure how socio-demographic factors influence outcomes, experiences, and costs associated with hip and knee replacement surgeries. For example, data determined that patients aged 75 and older had higher rates of hospital harm and readmission to hospital; lower favourable patient experience, lower improvement in functional status, quality of life and satisfaction with surgery; and higher inpatient hospitalization costs compared with younger age groups.
Equity is a vital component of health care delivery and is a priority for health care systems in Canada. Examining measures across patient groups helps identify inequities in outcomes and experiences and inform strategies to optimize care for all patients receiving hip and knee replacements.
Using different sources of heath data to assess the value of health care interventions aligns with the Quintuple Aim – a framework that emphasizes the importance of optimizing health care systems to achieve health equity by focusing on an improved patient experience, better patient outcomes, lower costs, improved provider experience, and overall health equity.
The future of measuring the patient experience
Originally launched in 2014, in the spring of 2024 CIHI updated its Canadian Patient Experiences Survey on Inpatient Care (CPES-IC) to better meet evolving health system needs and better reflect current patient priorities. This standardized tool allows hospitals to receive qualitative feedback from patients in a timely, standardized, and user-friendly way.
“It is important to collect patient-reported data to leverage the potential that this type of information can provide when linked with other health care data,” said Dr. Jason Werle, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Alberta. “This will ultimately improve patient-centred care and the patient experience.”
More robust patient data combined with synergistic analysis across clinical and administrative data sources will help identify challenges patients and health care providers experience and will empower decision makers, practitioners, and patients to deliver and receive better patient-centred care.