
Measuring What Matters to Manitobans
What are Patient-Reported Measures? (PRM)
Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs)
PROMs ask patients to provide information on aspects of their health (symptoms; function; physical, mental, and social health) that are relevant to their quality of life and provide insight into the effectiveness of care from the patient’s perspective without interpretation from a physician or anyone else. They can be designed to assess general health-related quality of life (Generic PROMs) or they can ask questions specific to a particular condition or disease (Condition-specific PROMs)
- Generic PROMs ask general questions about well-being such as questions about levels of pain and ability to undertake regular daily activities.
- Condition-Specific PROMs ask very specific questions related to health condition such as questions related to mobility following joint replacement surgery.
Used together, generic and condition-specific PROMs can provide important information to help drive improvement in health service delivery.
Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs)
PREMs asks patients to provide information about their experience of receiving care. They are focused on questions related to service delivery and processes of care, such as whether the patient feels they were adequately involved in important care decisions.
Patient-Reported Measures in MindSet

Three clinical trials are being conducted using integrated data from the MindSet platform in order to demonstrate how an integrated health data platform will facilitate the creation of a learning health system. In addition to integrating current clinical data, these trials will use the recommendations within the Provincial Patient-Reported Measurement Strategy to collect PROMs and PREMs data.
With the inclusion of patient-reported data, MindSet will not only be the most complete and provincially representative health database in Canada, but also the only province in Canada to have a strategy and data platform in place for the systemic, collection and use of patient-reported data. Including PRMs in a provincial health data platform ensures the patient’s voice is central in the measurement of our healthcare system.
FAQ
How is information about patient experience collected in Manitoba?
We collect standardized information about patient experience in Manitoba hospitals through the administration of the Canadian Patient Experiences Survey on Inpatient Care (CPES-IC). This data is collected within the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s (CIHI) Canadian Patient Experience Reporting System (CPERS). Information from CPERS provides insight into patients’ perspectives on the health services they received. This information is used to inform and improve patient-centred care and patient outcomes.
Are patient-reported measures only captured using questionnaires?
Patient-reported data can be collected in a variety of different ways including paper-based and/or electronic surveys, in-person discussions/interviews, automated telephone surveys, tablet computers, web kiosks at clinics and interactive voice response system (IVRS). They can be collected at different locations such as in the clinic waiting room, at home, or electronically anywhere. The way we capture the patient voice will depend, in-part, on input from key stakeholders (including people with lived experience), the flexibility of privacy laws, clinical and healthcare leadership, and available resources.
Which areas of healthcare need the voices of patients and the public?
All areas of healthcare need person/patient voices but realistically we need to start somewhere. In order to demonstrate benefits—including the sustainability and scalability of this project—we will start by identifying areas where we can demonstrate value, then scale and spread to meet provincial needs. We will work with many stakeholders to identify these priority areas, including members of the public.
How are social determinants of health (like income, housing, social support) included in patient-reported data?
Patient-reported measures ask for patients’ perspectives on how health services and interventions have, over time, affected their quality of life, daily functioning, symptom severity and other dimensions of health. Social determinants of health are important given their influence on the health of populations but are typically not included in PROMs or PREMs. This is why we are working with healthcare stakeholders to demonstrate the feasibility of linking patient-reported data with clinical and administrative data. By doing this, patient-reported data are considered within the context of the patient’s clinical data (e.g., healthcare utilization, prescribing data, lab results, treatment plans, etc.), socioeconomic status, demographic information, and other important health information.
Additional Resources
Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
CIHI is leading the development of a standardized approach to PROMs in Canada. Manitoba’s PRM strategy will align with this approach. Learn more about CIHI’s work on PROMs and PREMs
The Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)
The OECD’s Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS) initiative is in place to build international capacity to measure and compare patient-reported data using indicators that enable comparisons across countries.
Alberta PROMs and EQ-5D Research and Support Unit (APERSU)
Learn about how Alberta is promoting, coordinating and supporting the use of EQ5D and other patient-reported outcome measures for the measurement and valuation of health.
British Columbia’s Patient-Centred Measurement Strategy
Learn about how BC is using PROMs and PREMs to enhance patient-centred care and ensure patients have a voice in evaluating the quality and safety of healthcare.