The importance and potential benefits of introducing patient-reported measures (PRMs) into health care service have been widely acknowledged, yet the experience regarding their implementation into practice is limited. A new study, published on July 3rd in BMC Health Services Research, aims to elicit Finnish professionals’ views on PRMs and to explore the applicability of the Pregnancy and Childbirth (PCB) outcome set developed by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) in Finnish public maternity care. The publication is part of a research and development project of HUS Helsinki University Hospital with the aim to implement PRMs in HUS.
The 20 maternity care professionals interviewed for the study agreed on the importance and relevance of the PRMs questions included in the ICHOM PCB set on developing maternity care in Finland. However, they suggested that the number of questions should be reduced, and the time points for data collection should coincide with the Finnish follow-up protocol of maternity care. In addition, for a successful implementation, an effort needs to be made in integrating the PRM data with clinical data, in redesigning the service pathway, and in motivating women to respond to PRMs questionnaires.
The study indicates that the implementation of PRMs into Finnish public maternity service is possible, highly relevant and important. However, the adoption of PRMs into routine practice will require commitment and effort from healthcare organizations as well as both maternity care professionals and pregnant women.