What you’ll get out of this episode

Listen in as host Tim Fitzpatrick chats with Adeline Dorough about the importance of patient reported outcomes (PROs) including the Patient Activation Measure (PAM). The “PAM” has been highlighted as a key variable in more than 750 peer-reviewed studies to date. Adeline teaches us that while high-quality medical care is an important determinant of health outcomes, patients’ health behaviors play a large role, too. By leveraging patient activation to gauge an individual’s ability to manage their own health and take an active role in their care, care teams can be better equipped to provide high-quality care that meets a patient’s individual needs.

In this episode you’ll discover:

• Patient activation refers to an individual’s ability to manage their own health and take an active role in their care. At its core, the concept of patient activation stems from one underlying question: Does this patient possess the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their own health and healthcare?
• A patient-reported outcome (PRO) is a report of a person's health status that comes directly from the patient. Patient-reported outcomes are important because so many diagnoses cannot be made by a lab test or imaging. In many ways, PROs capture health data that are invisible in the standard of care, but essential to how we deliver high quality-care.
• Why the PAM is the gold standard tool for assessing patient activation, and is endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF).
• How Phreesia partners with companies to give patients the tools they need to take an active role in their care. 
• How patients move between PAM levels during their care journeys, and why that matters. Clinicians can use the PAM levels to understand where each person may need a little more support and modify their approach to care delivery.

Quotables

“By leveraging PROs and our work at Phreesia, we are able to better understand how to help patients and meet them where they are in their individual healthcare journey; and beyond that, we are able to help clinicians and staff as well, because we are electronically administering these PRO measures before they even step foot into the office. That means providers can spend time understanding that information and then using the appointment time to really get into the meat of it. “@AgileAdeline #Phreesia on Ep30 @T-Minus10 w/ @trfitzpatrick

Recommended Resources

• Development of the Patient Activation Measure (PAM)
• 10 Strategies to Increase Patient Activation (Phreesia Blog)
• White Paper: The key to reducing no-shows? Patient engagement (Phreesia)

Join the Conversation

Phreesia

Adeline Dorough on LinkedIn

“This is a beautiful infographic and the content is often underappreciated. 

Dr. Murdoch’s quote is insightful and true, “Often, the ‘oh by the way’ comments are the biggest thing.” 

Thanks for sharing Dr. Maida Affan!” Adeline on LinkedIn

About Your Host

Tim Fitzpatrick is the CEO of IKONA Health, a company using neurobiology and immersive technology to improve how patients learn about their care and treatment options. Tim co-founded IKONA based on his own patient experiences while serving in the US Navy and now in the VA health system. He has served as Principal Investigator on multiple federal research grants, has co-authored papers on learning science, VR, and mental health in the age of COVID-19, and has partnered with top healthcare investors and institutions including the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, National Artificial Intelligence Institute, StartUp Health, On Deck, FundRx, MATTER and NVIDIA.

T-Minus 10 is a part of the Slice of Healthcare podcast network.