Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Inpatient Spine Care: A Prospective Pilot Study on Feasibility and Process Integration.

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are key instruments in value-based healthcare but are not yet routinely implemented in inpatient clinical practice. This prospective pilot study aimed to evaluate the organizational feasibility and integration of a digital PROM collection in a university spine center. METHODS: In this prospective pilot study, consecutive patients scheduled for elective inpatient conservative or surgical spine treatment were included. PROMs were collected digitally via tablet at two time points: at admission (T1) and prior to discharge (T2). Both generic and disease-specific PROMs were used. Primary endpoints were participation rate, data completeness, and process-related barriers. In addition, usability of the software was assessed using the System Usability Scale (SUS). RESULTS: Of 225 screened patients, 144 (64%) were included. PROM collection at admission was complete (100%), whereas complete data at discharge (T2) were available for 62.5% of patients. The main reason for incomplete data was failure to administer the survey during the discharge process (n = 44). The majority of patients were digitally contactable and preferred email contact for potential follow-up assessments. Usability of the software was rated high (median SUS score 87.5). PROM trajectories showed overall clinically plausible changes. CONCLUSION: Digital PROM collection in routine inpatient care is feasible and can be successfully integrated into clinical workflows. However, the discharge process represents a critical point of data loss. Structured integration into routine processes, including defined responsibilities and workflow-based triggers, appears necessary to improve data completeness.