7 Proven Strategies to Boost Patient Engagement with PROMs
Spent ages choosing the best questionnaire, setting up templates and asking patients to record their outcomes just to find no-one engages? You are definitely not the only one.
It's tough. Life is busy and questionnaires are boring. So, getting patients to engage isn't easy. Keep hope though.
After gathering outcomes for thousands of patients we've gathered some tips from doctors and physios who average over 90% patient engagement.
These tips aren't magic, but we've seen huge improvements in engagement for lots of clinicians without slowing down their clinics.
Ready to jump in?
Our Principles for Patient Engagement
1. Tell the Patient
This piece of advice is first because it is by far the most important. If you don't tell your patients to do the questionnaires, they won't. This doesn't mean you have to be bossy or demanding, or even that you need to tell them yourself, but the patient needs to know you want them to do these forms.
Some methods to make this easier:
- Including a link to the questionnaires in your email templates
- Have your secretary mention it when booking the appointment and when the patient arrives
- Ask them to do a baseline score before the first appointment which you can talk over with them in the first appointment
These methods aren't mutually exclusive, you can do them all.
2. Explain the Benefits
Following on from principle 1, mentioning how the questionnaires benefit both you and the patient goes a long way. The most powerful way to frame this benefit is, I think, in terms of care decisions.
Please make sure you do these questionnaires because the data helps me, and other clinicians, make decisions about your care going forward.
There are other benefits too:
- "You'll be able to see your progress which will keep you motivated with your rehab." (everyone likes to track their progress).
- "This information will help future patients like you make the best decision for their care" (patients will have sympathy for others in their shoes).
- "I use this information to make sure I am recommending the best treatment for patients" (patients will like to hear you care).
3. Remind the Patient
Patient outcomes can be helpful for years but you cannot expect your patient to record outcomes of their own volition for more than a few weeks. Without reminders, even the most motivated patients will forget.
You have three main approaches:
- Automated reminders - Set up email or SMS reminders using automation tools
- Manual reminders - Have your secretary call patients at scheduled intervals
- Specialist software - Use an off-the-shelf solution that handles everything
The key is consistency. Whether automated or manual, patients need regular prompts at predictable intervals (e.g., baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months).
For detailed step-by-step guides on setting up each approach, see Appendix: Setting Up Reminder Systems.
Specialist Software Comparison
Amplitude Clinical (pro one™)
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| The Incumbent: Trusted by registries and hospitals - these guys seemed to get to market first and made some clever deals to get all the registries onboard. Contextual Insight: Can provide relevant clinical insights alongside the scores. | Costly: Highest monthly fee, which can strain a small private practice budget. Poor User Experience: 15 years ago amplitude was the gold standard. Unfortunately, times change and the Amplitude team seem to have rested on their laurels so now the software looks dated and feels clunky so patient engagement suffers. Complex Set-up: Pathways are slow to set-up and difficult to tweak to meet your specific requirements which makes wasting a lot of time fiddling fairly unavoidable. |
Physitrack
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Cheap: Combines PROMs, thousands of exercise videos, and telehealth in one affordable subscription. Single Platform: If you're a physio, your patients may already be on the app for their exercises, so adding PROMs should mean patients engage. | PROMs Secondary: Because PROMs is an after thought (it is primarily for sharing exercise videos) reporting and data analysis are less sophisticated than dedicated PROMs platforms. Bad Design: As is often the case, when software tries to do more than one thing at once, the interface gets busy and some features are difficult to access. In Physitrack's case, this is the PROMs. |
Castor EDC
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Free Option: Free version available for small, single-site, non-commercial audits. Ultimate Flexibility: Perfect for designing complex, bespoke questionnaires for unique research or audits. | Steep Learning Curve: Not intuitive for clinic use; requires significant technical time to set up and manage. No Clinic Use: Cannot integrate with billing or patient management for routine practice. |
ZEDOC / OnlinePROMS
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Maximum Response: Designed specifically to reduce patient friction and achieve very high completion rates. Automated Alerts: Quickly flags high-risk or deteriorating patients for urgent follow-up. | Cost Scale: Often priced for clinics/departments, making the cost per patient high for a solo user. Admin Heavy: You may need to negotiate a custom small-scale plan, adding administrative hassle. |
Patient Watch
- 87% patient engagement
- Less than 30s to add a patient
- Templates for different MSK pathways
Okay... not fair for us to do our own pros and cons but we did build Patient Watch because setting up the automations yourself is difficult and none of the other softwares really make it easy and enjoyable enough for clinicians.
Anyhow... enough self promotion and on with the advice.
4. Make it Easy
No-one likes difficult to use websites or apps. Do your patients a favour and just make it easy for them.
Most of those modern form builders I mentioned in Appendix Option 1. Automate - The Technical Way will be simple enough for most patients to use. Paper forms like in Appendix Option 2. - The Manual Way also work. Sadly some softwares just aren't good enough...
If you're going for a printed version, opt for something:
- With large font
- With lots of spacing
- With intuitive design
And, if you use software, opt for exactly the same... something with:
- Large font
- Lots of spacing
- Intuitive design
Plus one critical factor:
- Traditional input fields
What this means is a bit techy but if you have ever tried to use gov.uk you will know what I mean. The patterns it uses just make sense.
This is because they all follow exactly the html standards w3c take such care with.
This means doing things like:
- Using a radio button for single choice, and checkboxes for multi-choice
- Using clearly labelled text inputs for short answers, and textareas for longer responses
- Using properly grouped fields with fieldsets and legends
If this stuff means nothing to you, don't worry. I am just getting carried away. All you really need to see is the breakdown below:
User Experience Ratings
Form Software
Poor
Specialist Software
5. Let Patients See What is Going On
How fun would Strava be if you never got to see the stats from your run?
Not fun at all right?
The same applies to PROMs. If you give patients some way to visualize their own progress - they will really truly want to do the questionnaires.
Example: Patient progress chart showing clear improvement over time
Obviously this is easiest with a software pre-configured to show charts of the questionnaire the patient is using to both you and the patient. Charts like these ones will form a satisfying curve up or curve down and the patients will love it.
Without a software, the chart sharing will need to be proactive. This could mean sending an email to the patient with a chart you have plotted in Excel with their results. Or, more simply, talking through the results at the follow-up and sketching out the progress on paper.
Whatever it may be, one of the most frequent bits of patient feedback we've heard is, "I loved seeing the results in a chart". Give your patients that.
6. Say Thank You
This last principle takes us back to where we started. Telling the patient you care.
A thank you works best if it comes directly from you the clinician. And, it does not hurt if it comes more than once. Setting up automated emails, having your secretary say thank you, or having it written on each questionnaire they submit will all make a difference.
What's the adage? "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless [doctor]!" - William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Enough hyperbole, like Principle 1: Tell the patient is both easy and effective so, if you take anything from this article, make it that.
Bringing It All Together
Getting patients to complete PROMs doesn't have to be a battle. The clinicians who consistently achieve 90%+ completion rates aren't doing anything magical - they're just being intentional about communication, making things easy, and showing patients they care.
Let's recap the seven principles:
- Tell the patient - Make it crystal clear that them completing the questionnaires is important
- Explain the benefits - Tell them specifically why it matters for their care
- Remind them - Set up automated reminders so they don't forget
- Make it easy - Choose software with excellent user experience
- Show their progress - Let patients visualise their improvement
- Say thank you - Acknowledge their effort and contribution
- Choose the right tools - Pick software that makes all of this simple
The beauty of these principles is that they work together. When you tell patients clearly, explain the benefits, and make it easy for them, each principle reinforces the others.
Start with what feels manageable. Even implementing just Principle 1 and Principle 6 will make a noticeable difference to your completion rates. Once you've got those down, add in the others one at a time.
Remember, you're not asking patients for a favour. You're offering them a tool to track their progress, understand their treatment better, and feel more involved in their care. When you frame it like that, most patients are genuinely keen to help.
Good luck with your outcomes gathering, and if you have any tips of your own that work well, we'd love to hear them.
Appendix: Setting Up Reminder Systems
This section provides detailed implementation guides for the three reminder approaches mentioned in Principle 3. Choose the option that best fits your technical comfort level and budget.
Option 1: Build Your Own Automated System
If you're comfortable with a bit of technical setup, you can build your own automated reminder system. You'll need three components:
i. Forms Platform
Choose a form builder to create your questionnaires:
- Google Forms (free, basic features)
- Microsoft Forms (free with Office 365)
- Jotform (free tier available)
- Typeform (better UX, paid)
- Formbricks (open source)
Note: Most require you to manually create each questionnaire from scratch.
ii. Reminder Service
For SMS reminders (highest engagement rate, ~80% read within 3 minutes):
For email reminders (free but lower open rates ~20%):
- Use your practice email if you have a custom domain
- Set up a dedicated Gmail or Outlook account
iii. Automation Platform
Use Zapier (£20/month) or n8n (free, self-hosted) to schedule your reminders. Here's how a typical workflow looks:
Time investment: 4-8 hours initial setup, 30 mins per patient to configure
Cost: £20-50/month (Zapier + SMS costs)
Best for: Tech-savvy clinicians with limited budget
Option 2: Manual Paper-Based System
If you prefer a simpler, low-tech approach:
- Source your forms: Download PDFs from Physiopedia or Patient Watch Forms
- Print in bulk: Print multiple copies per patient (ideally numbered - "Week 6", "3 Months", etc.)
- Distribute at appointment: Give patients all copies at their first appointment in a folder
- Schedule follow-up calls: Have your secretary call patients at each interval to remind them to complete and return forms
⚠️ Critical reminder: Without follow-up calls, completion rates will drop to ~15%, even if patients took the forms home with good intentions.
Alternative: Instead of paper, send links to free online calculators:
Time investment: 2-3 hours per patient over treatment period (phone calls)
Cost: Staff time + printing (~£5-10/patient)
Best for: Small practices, older patient populations, no technical skills required
Option 3: Specialist PROM Software
For the least hassle and best results, specialist software handles forms, reminders, and tracking automatically. Most require only:
- Sign-up (5 minutes)
- Select templates pre-configured for your treatment pathways (knee replacement, ACL repair, etc.)
- Add patients via QR code scan or email address
The software then automatically:
- Sends reminders at the right times
- Tracks completion rates
- Generates charts and reports
- Sends you alerts if patients don't respond
Time investment: 30 seconds per patient
Cost: £30-200/month depending on provider
Best for: Busy clinicians who want 85%+ completion rates without manual work
See the Software Comparison section above for detailed reviews of specific platforms.
Ready to Transform Your Patient Engagement?
These seven principles have helped countless clinicians achieve 90%+ patient engagement with PROMs. Start implementing them today and watch your completion rates soar.