A cross sectional survey exploring the awareness and familiarity regarding patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) among joint reconstruction surgeons in India

Background: The aim of this study is to describe the usage of PROM, its use or lack of use, barriers in using it and its future prospect among the arthroplasty surgeons from a developing country like India. Methods: An online survey was conducted by emailing an anonymous questionnaire to orthopaedic surgeons working in three tertiary care academic institutions and two tertiary care private hospitals. All orthopaedic surgeons or residents who have been performing or assisting in arthroplasty and arthroscopy were included in the study. The study was cross-sectional in design based on a single response from all surgeons. Results: The mean age of the 87 surgeons participating in this study was 38.6 +/- 4.7 years. 62.1% of surgeons had used PROMs for both clinical as well as research purposes at some point. 25.9% of surgeons had an adequate understanding of the function, benefits, and drawbacks of PROMs. Among the barriers against using PROMs, time constraint was agreed upon by most of the surgeons (59.5%). 64.3% of surgeons were willing to incorporate the PROMs into their daily practice if the barriers are overcome. Conclusion: The limitations of use of PROM should also be borne in mind before embarking on its widespread implementation. Involvement of regulatory and professional societies as well as substantial investment in manpower, money and time is required for making the use of PROMs regular.