howRU is the first of a new generation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), designed for routine use as part of the day-to-day care process. PROMs measure changes in health-related quality of life from the patient's own perspective.
The Darzi Report, High Quality Care for All, states that if quality is to be at the heart of everything we do, it must be understood from the perspective of patients. Quality measurement is key (after all, we can only be sure to improve what we actually measure); a defining characteristic of high performing teams is their willingness to measure their performance and use the information to make continuous improvements. Effectiveness of care should be measured using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), alongside clinical measures such as mortality, complication rates and clinical improvement.
Further information about howRU, including a demonstration instrument can be found at the Routine Health Outcomes web site.
