The growing importance of patient-reported outcomes

Quality leaders face mounting pressure to demonstrate value, improve outcomes, address social determinants of health, and govern emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Through its new Health Outcomes Accreditation and Community‑Focused Care Accreditation, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is reshaping accreditation around outcomes, community impact, and digital trust. But what does an outcomes-focused accreditation model look like in practice?

One area likely to receive greater attention is patient-reported outcome measurement. Traditional quality metrics often emphasize adverse events, readmissions, complications, or mortality. While those measures remain important, experts say they may not fully capture whether care improves patients' lives.

"In my practice, one of the best indicators of whether treatment was effective is patient-reported outcomes," says Raymond Douglas, MD, PhD, an oculoplastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California. "Has the patient become functional again? After six months, do they feel better? A neat discharge summary is not as important as those responses."

Patient-reported outcomes can provide a more comprehensive view of recovery, quality of life, symptom improvement, and functional status. They also help healthcare organizations understand whether interventions are producing meaningful benefits beyond the immediate episode of care.

Douglas recalls a patient who seemingly got better by every traditional measure they used, yet six months later they were worse than before.

“We didn't do anything wrong, and that gap [wasn’t] on a list of things we need to do to be compliant," he says.

As healthcare organizations pursue outcomes-focused accreditation strategies, many quality leaders will need to expand measurement frameworks to include patient perspectives and longer-term outcomes, according to Douglas.

Editor’s note: This article was excerpted from our Inside Accreditation & Quality newsletter.