Many important medical outcomes are best reported directly by patients. As such, Amplio provides software (known as STAR) and advice on obtaining patient-reported outcomes electronically as a routine part of clinical care. For example, in the case of radical prostatectomy patients, we email patients at home before their appointments and provide iPads in clinic for those without email access. They complete an interactive, online questionnaire about urinary and erectile function. This is converted into a report for their urologist to use in the follow-up visit. Compliance rates are very high because the urologist finds the report clinically useful, and patients like their doctors to know how they are doing.
In addition to providing software for patient-reported outcomes, members of the AMPLIO team have expertise in clinical implementation. We can provide advice to ensure that patient-reported outcomes are obtained on a high proportion of patients, without undue interference with routine care. Our team members visit clinics, observe workflow, and then work with clinic staff on best practices.
See screenshots from our patient-reported outcomes system below.
Email from doctor
Patients receive an email from their surgeon at regular intervals, either after surgery or shortly before follow-up clinic visits. This stresses that the information provided by patients will be entered into the clinic record and assessed by the doctor.
Pads question
This is a typical screen shot from a questionnaire completed by a radical prostatectomy patient. The English language version is shown, but the survey is also available in Russian, Spanish, and French.
Interactive pads question
Questionnaires can be designed with interactive logic. For example, the first time a patient reports no longer needing pads to manage incontinence after prostate surgery, the survey skips to a question that asks when the patient stopped needing pads.
Report screenshot
This is a copy of the report that the doctor sees in clinic. As well as showing how symptoms change over time, the report shows expected and anticipated progress. This patient could have been told as early as six months after radical prostatectomy that he was unlikely to recover function and subsequently been referred to a sexual medicine clinic.
iPad screenshot
Patients without email access complete the questionnaires using iPads in clinic. The iPads have a user-friendly interface so that staff can readily identify which patients need to complete a questionnaire and for which patients an outcomes report is already available.
Mammogram screening aid
Questionnaires can include text and a variety of different graphical formats. In this case, tabs allow the user to navigate from one page to another.
BPI with a picture of the “where is the pain”
Questionnaires can include visual cues, such as the location of pain.
Breast Q
Questionnaires can include a variety of attractive graphical interfaces.
Breast decision aid
Information can be presented back to patients depending on how they completed the questionnaire.
SAM
Information presented back to patients can include hyperlinks to educational materials.