Information for health professionals about collecting and using patient-reported measures (PRMs).
There are many PRMs surveys available for use. When selecting a measure, it is important to think about how you will use the information once you collect it. Most people are willing to complete a patient survey if they know that the information they provide will be used to inform their care.
Patient surveys used in the statewide PRMs program
The NSW PRMs Program has used a collaborative approach to select the PROM and PREM surveys implemented across NSW Health services. See below for a list of included surveys.
Step 1: Clarify your purpose
Before selecting a survey, consider:
- are you measuring outcomes (PROMs), experiences (PREMs) or both?
- will results inform individual care, service improvement, benchmarking or all three?
- who is your target population?
- where and when will surveys be completed?
- how will data be stored and protected?
Being clear about the purpose will guide selection.
Step 2: Choose the right type of measure
PRMs can be:
- Generic measures: Assess broad aspects of health and wellbeing across conditions. Generic measures support comparison across services.
- Condition-specific measures: Focus on symptoms and outcomes relevant to a particular disease or clinical group. Condition specific measures provide deeper clinical insight.
Step 3: Assess measurement quality
We developed a clear set of principles to assess the quality and suitability of measures:
- Person-centred: Surveys focus on what matters most to patients, carers, families, communities and staff, and what is most useful for improving care.
- Purposeful: Survey data collections produce meaningful insights and actionable data, and articulate how and by whom information will be used to improve outcomes, experiences, and safety.
- Proportionate: Data is collected once and used for multiple purposes to ensure the volume, frequency and duration of data collections minimise duplication and burden.
- Validated: Surveys are based on well established evidence, and collection tools are fit for purpose.
- Responsive: Survey results and insights are used at the service level to improve care and are shared across the health system to support continuous improvement.
- Governed: Resourced data management and governance plans are in place for collecting, reporting, sharing and responding to survey results to maximise their use and value.
- Transparent: Surveys are accompanied by information on their purpose and how the responses will be used.
- Accessible: Surveys and collection methods support participation by diverse populations and results are available to multiple audiences, including consumers.
Step 4: Consider inclusivity and context
A suitable survey should be:
- culturally appropriate
- available in relevant languages
- appropriate for age and literacy levels
- accessible for people with disability
Some instruments require linguistic validation for use in Australia.
Useful resources when selecting a PRM
Electronic collection and use of PRMs
PRMs can be collected and used electronically via SMS, email, tablets or patient portals, using the Health Outcomes and Patient Experience (HOPE) platform.
Electronic collection allows for:
- adjustable font size
- read-aloud functionality
- multilingual options
- real time access to results for clinicians.
Most patients are comfortable completing digital forms when they receive support.
Supporting patients to complete surveys
Patients may be assisted by:
- a healthcare worker
- a carer or family member.
If the patient has assistance completing their surveys, it is important that the questions are answered from the perspective of the patient, rather than the person filling it out.
PRMs surveys can also be completed by a healthcare provider during a consultation via virtual care (or telehealth). The healthcare provider will be required to read any consent information and answer the survey from the perspective of the patient.
Within PRMs HOPE, a clinician can access a patient survey using the Secure (Restricted) Access Portal and a secure access ID, with the permission of the patient.
PREMs and PROMs available in the PRMs Program
Emergency department PREM survey
Survey to measure the patient view of their experience in the emergency department.
Inpatient PREM question set
Survey to capture patients' experience of their hospital stay.
Longitudinal PREM - Questions
Adults receiving care that extends over a long period of time and is seen as a longitudinal capture of a persons experience.
Paediatric Integrated Care Survey (PICS) - iPREM
PICS is an instrument that measures the outcome of family-reported experience of integrated care for child health.
Outpatient PREM question set
Survey to capture patients' experiences of outpatient clinics and services.
Paediatric PREM questions
A survey for parents to capture the health experience of their children.
Virtual care PREM question set
Virtual care patient experience real-time question set.
The Patient Reported Measures surveys listed here are available for users within the HOPE platform, current as of March, 2026.
Assessment of Quality of Life – 6 Dimensions (AQoL-6D)
The AQoL-6D questionnaire is designed to measure a person’s self-reported health and wellbeing across 6 areas: Independent living, mental health, coping, relationships, pain and senses.
Brisbane Burns Scar Impact Profile (BBSIP) for Adults (1.0)
The BBSIP was developed to assess health-related quality of life in adults aged 18 years and over with burn scarring or at probable risk of burn scarring.
Brisbane Burns Scar Impact Profile (BBSIP) for Children and Young People (1.0)
The BBSIP was developed to assess health-related quality of life in children and young people with or at probable risk of burn scarring.
BBSIP- Caregivers of Children < 8 years
The BBSIP for Caregivers of children less than 8 is a burns specific quality of life tool that has been validated for use by carers responsible for children under the age of 8 years, who are unable to complete a PRM on their own behalf.
BPI-SF (Brief Pain Inventory – Short Form)
The BPI-SF is a survey used to assess pain intensity and pain interference with daily functioning. This survey helps clinicians evaluate both the sensory and reactive dimensions of pain, making it valuable for initial assessment and ongoing monitoring of pain management interventions.
Child Adjustment and Parent Efficacy Scale (CAPES)
This questionnaire includes two subscales that measure children’s behavioural problems and emotional maladjustment, as well as a self-efficacy scale that measures parents’ confidence in managing their child’s specific problem behaviours.
Cardiff Wound Impact Schedule (CWIS)
This questionnaire is concerned with the effects that your wound has on your daily life.
Catquest-Short Form 9 (CATQUEST-9SF)
Catquest-9SF is a Rasch scaled 9-item questionnaire used to measure activity limitations in daily life due to poor vision because of cataracts. The questionnaire is used to measure patients’ self-assessed visual function before and 6 months after a cataract extraction to evaluate the benefit of the surgery.
Chronic Airways Assessment Test (CAAT)
The Chronic Airways Assessment Test (CAAT) is designed to assess the impact that lung disease such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma and bronchiectasis has on a person’s health status. It evaluates symptoms and their effects on daily life.
COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale (C19-YRS)
A survey to capture persistent symptoms of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (long COVID).
Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21
The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale - 21 Items (DASS-21) is a set of 3 self-report scales designed to measure the emotional states of depression, anxiety and stress.
DEPS-R (Diabetes Eating Problem Survey – Revised)
The DEPS-R asks questions about eating habits, glycaemic management, insulin misuse, and other compensatory behaviours. This is a screening tool, not a diagnostic tool, and can help facilitate further evaluation or referral to specialists.
Diabetes Distress Scale
Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) questionnaire and scoring sheet.
EuroQol 5 Dimensions, 5-Level version (EQ-5D-5L)
The EQ-5D-5L asks questions about mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain and discomfort and anxiety and depression.
Falls Efficacy Scale (FES-I)
The questionnaire is intended to be used in adult population to measure the level of concern about falling during social and physical activities inside and outside the home.
Hip Dysfunction and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS)
The Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (HOOS) is a questionnaire intended to be used to assess the patient’s opinion about their hip and associated problems.
Integrated Palliative Outcome Scale (IPOS) Renal
The questionnaire is intended for use among people severely affected by diseases such as cancer, respiratory, heart, renal or liver failure, and neurological diseases.
International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF)
The ICIQ-UI Short Form is a questionnaire for evaluating the frequency, severity and impact on quality of life (QoL) of urinary incontinence.
Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ)
The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), is a patient-reported outcome instrument, and provides a measure of symptoms and physical limitations associated with heart failure.
Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)
The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) is a knee-specific instrument, developed to assess the patients' opinion about their knee and associated problems.
Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL)
The MENQOL is a 29 question self-reported questionnaire to assess the impact of four domains of menopausal symptoms.
Oxford Hip Score (OHS)
The OHS is a 12-item questionnaire that assesses hip pain and function from the patient's perspective.
Oxford Knee Score (OKS)
The OKS is a 12-item questionnaire that assesses knee pain and function from the patient's perspective.
Parkinson’s Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire 8
The PDQ-8 is an eight-item questionnaire adapted from the long form questionnaire titled the PDQ-39. One question from each of the eight domains in the PDQ-39 are included in the short-form version. The PDQ-8 is validated for use with Parkinson’s Disease patients only.
Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)
PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales, self-report quality-of-life questionnaire for children and young people aged 8 years and over. It has 23 questions in the domains of physical, emotional, social and school.
PCS (Pain Catastrophizing Scale)
The PCS is a 13-item self-report questionnaire used to assess a patient’s thoughts and feelings in relation to their pain. It measures three dimensions of catastrophizing:
- Rumination: Inability to stop thinking about pain
- Magnification: Tendency to exaggerate the threat value of pain
- Helplessness: Perceived inability to cope with pain.
Partners in Health (PIH) Scale
Partners in Health (PIH) survey, available for ad-hoc use in clinical programs where chronic disease management and self-management information forms part of shared decision making.
This survey is used broadly across NSW in integrated models of care.
Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System Computer Adaptive Test (PROMIS CAT)
PROMIS CAT is a Computerised Adaptive Test (CAT) using the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) item bank.
Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System 29 (PROMIS-29)
The questionnaire is intended to be used in adult population to measure the level of concern and their overall wellbeing.
Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29+2 (PROMIS-29+2)
Quality of life self-reported questionnaire to measure the level of concern and overall wellbeing. The PROMIS 29+2 has the addition of two questions and domain of cognition to the standard PROMIS 29 survey (depression, anxiety, physical function, pain interference, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and the ability to participate in social roles).
Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System Pediatric Profile v2.0 – Profile-25 (PROMIS-25)
The PROMIS-25 is a quality-of-life questionnaire for children and young people aged 8-18 years. The survey has 25 questions across the domains of physical functioning, anxiety, depressive symptoms, fatigue, peer relationships, pain interference and pain intensity.
Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) (PROM)
An ultra-brief 4 question screening scale for symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Patient Self-Efficacy Questionnaire – Quality of Care (PESQ)
The PSEQ measures a patient’s confidence in their ability to perform various activities despite pain. This guide will assist clinicians in administering, interpreting and utilising PSEQ results to enhance patient care.
Post COVID-19 Functional Status (PCFS) Scale
An ordinal outcome measure that can be used to track functional status over time.
Problem Areas In Diabetes (PAID) Scale
The Problem Areas In Diabetes (PAID) scale is a well-validated, psychometrically robust questionnaire with 20 items.
PAID-T (Problem Areas in Diabetes – Teen version)
The PAID-T is a reliable and useful tool in assessing diabetes specific emotional distress in young people aged 12-18 years with diabetes on insulin.
Return to Work (RTW)
This questionnaire collects information about a patient's employment or study status before and after their injury. It focuses on the impact of the injury on their ability to return to work or study, whether they are engaged in full-time or part-time activities, and how their physical capabilities have been affected.
Simplified Modified Rankin Scale Questionnaire (smRS)
The smRS is a single item, global outcomes rating scale for patient’s poststroke. It is used to categorise level of functional independent.
St George Respiratory (SGR) Questionnaire
This questionnaire is designed to help us learn much more about how your breathing is troubling you and how it affects your life. We are using it to find out which aspects of your illness cause you most problems, rather than what the doctors and nurses think your problems are.
Wexner Cleveland Clinic Incontinence Score
The Wexner is a brief self-report questionnaire comprising of five questions to assess the type, frequency, extent and impact of anal incontinence and its impact on quality of life.
WOUND-Q©
Three scales; Assessment, Drainage and Smell. WOUND-Q© is validated for patients with all types of chronic wounds in any anatomic location.
References
- Sansoni J. Health Outcomes: An Overview from an Australian Perspective. Australian Health Outcomes Collaboration, Australian Health Services Research Institute. Wollongong: University of Wollongong; 2016.
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