Measuring patient experiences (PREMS): Progress made by the OECD and its member countries between 2006 and 2016

Abstract

The OECD has been leading the work on international comparisons of patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) across its member states for over a decade. This paper synthesises national developments in relation to measuring and monitoring PREMs between 2006 and 2016 across countries participating in the OECD Health Care Quality Indicator expert group. This report shows that most OECD countries measure patient experience at a national level. It also highlights that efforts to measure and report patient-reported measures which used to be conducted in an ad hoc manner previously, have been institutionalised and standardised in an increasing number of countries. This national progress has enabled the international reporting of patient experiences with ambulatory care across 17 OECD countries in the recent edition of OECD’s flagship publication, Health at a Glance 2017. The scope of these indicators is currently limited, but recent national progress suggests that there is an opportunity to expand PREMs data collection in different domains for international reporting. The OECD plans to continue developing PREMs that would be useful for policy makers, and help drive improvements in health system performance for health care users, building on the PREMs work to date undertaken in consultation with countries.