The experience of patients, as key stakeholders in the healthcare sector, is increasingly recognized as a fundamental measure of the quality of healthcare services provided, alongside other clinical measures of effectiveness, efficiency, and patient safety.
The MeS Laboratory has regularly conducted surveys targeting patients regarding hospital and emergency care, home care, nursing, community care, maternity services, as well as primary care and lifestyle. Data collection has been carried out through postal surveys, computer assisted telephone surveys, or web interview.
Starting from 2017, continuous monitoring systems of patients’ experience (PREMs – Patient Reported Experience Measures) have been implemented with reference to ordinary inpatient hospital services, as well as outcome measures (PROMs – Patient Reported Outcome Measures) for certain surgical and medical care pathways.
In 2024, based on the international PaRIS project (Patient-Reported Indicator Survey), a survey was developed aimed at collecting patient-reported experience and outcomes related to the quality of community-based care, with particular attention to the needs of chronic patients (PREMs for Primary Care and Chronic Conditions).
The major innovation lies in the establishment of permanent observatories that go beyond the previous sample-based surveys to become systemic, thus creating a continuous monitoring system. This result has been made possible through the creation of a continuous data flow from healthcare organizations’ information systems to the MeS Laboratory servers.
Patients are informed and invited to participate in the surveys by healthcare professionals during hospitalization or outpatient visits, but they are free to choose whether to participate. Those who agree to take part, by providing their mobile phone number and/or email address, receive a unique link within 24–48 hours to complete the questionnaire.
The questionnaires used in the surveys include both closed-ended and open-ended questions; the latter make it possible to highlight aspects that are otherwise difficult to measure, such as expressions of empathy and emotional support that made a difference in the individual patient’s experience.
The expansion of the initiative to multiple regional systems has enabled the creation of a PREMs Network that promotes benchmarking among Regions.
The Network, currently extended to Tuscany, Veneto, and Umbria, represents an open channel of communication between citizens and the Healthcare System, capable of collecting stories, suggestions, and acknowledgements, enhancing the contribution of professionals engaged daily in care delivery and promoting a more attentive, accessible, and person-centered healthcare system.
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