There are more than 50 measurement feedback systems designed to support the implementation of measurement-based care in behavioral health care. A 2016 article by researchers at Kaiser Permanente’s Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle discusses the characteristics and capabilities of each (Lyon, A.R., et al., Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2016opens in new window). Here are some of the most popular options:
- Free online measures. The availability of free online measures and tracking systems has increased over the years, notes Zeeshan Butt, PhD, associate professor of medical social sciences, surgery, and psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University. One popular option for behavioral health professionals is the publicly available Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), developed with funding from the National Institutes of Health. PROMIS provides clinicians and researchers reliable, valid and flexible measures that assess physical, mental and social well-being, including outcomes such as pain, fatigue, emotional distress and social participation. PROMIS has also developed computerized adaptive tests (CATs) that, for example, allow a clinician treating a patient for depression to shorten an assessment that typically includes 20 to 25 items to five or six questions without a loss of measurement precision.
- Web applications. Better Outcomes Now, the web application of the Partners for Change Outcome Management System, and OQ-Analystopens in new window, a web-based software system offered by OQ Measures, both enable providers to administer questionnaires to clients on a tablet, desktop, laptop or mobile phone device; provide real-time clinician and client reports; and include early warning treatment failure alerts.
- Patient registries. These systems can be used to identify which treatments work best for which patients. One is APA’s Mental and Behavioral Health Registry, an electronic database that enables practitioners to enter encrypted data to track patients’ responses to treatment and report their outcomes seamlessly to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). In addition, the American Psychiatric Association has its own MIPS registry, called PsychPROopens in new window. Other registries include FIGmdopens in new window. Finally, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s PCORnet is a digital network of electronic health records and claims data across health-care institutions, often used by researchers conducting outcomes monitoring research.
