The Clinical Leadership, Effectiveness and Outcomes (CLEO) team has launched two video animations on Patient Reported Outcomes Measures (PROMs) and Shared Decision Making (SDM).

The videos have been developed as a fundamental education and communication tool to help patients understand the purpose and importance of collecting PROMs, and how their responses will be used throughout their care to inform their treatment.

The videos aim to present complex information about PROMs and SDM in a clear, concise and easily understandable manner. By using animated visuals, the content is more engaging and accessible. Both videos also aim to increase patient’s awareness and understanding of outcomes-based care, by ensuring patients are well informed about the purpose and benefits on taking an active role in their healthcare, fostering a more collaborative and informed approach to their treatment.

The videos also emphasise Northern Health’s commitment to person-centred care, by highlighting the importance of an individual’s goals, values and preferences in decisions around their care.

Led by Dr Katharine See, Chief Health Outcomes Officer, CLEO, a co-design working group was also formed, comprising of clinical and non-clinical staff, as well as consumers, who provided valuable advice and feedback during all stages of development of the video scripts and storyboards.

Dr See said Northern Health is an emerging leader in the outcomes-based care space.

“These videos are designed to help the community understand our goal for healthcare moving forward,” she said.

“Asking ourselves, ‘What matters most to our patients and community?’ needs to underpin everything we do to ensure a sustainable healthcare system for the future.”

PROMs and SDM have emerged as pivotal approaches in improving patient outcomes, shifting the dynamic between patients and healthcare providers from passive acceptance to collaborative engagement.

Empowering patients to actively participate in the healthcare journey, sees them feel valued and respected as equal partners in the decision-making process. As patients gain a comprehensive understanding of their conditions and available treatment options, they experience a sense of control over their health.

Anne-Marie Fabri, Associate Director, Associate Director, Community Programs and Chairperson, Standard 2 Consent and Shared Decision-Making Sub-CIC, said involving consumers in organisation-wide projects, was the best way to achieving person-centred care.

“When we involve the consumer and ask them about what is important to them, and what are the treatment outcomes they would find acceptable, then we are better able to tailor treatment options to that person. It is our best way to achieving person centred care,” she said.

“This new video about shared decision making helps consumers understand the value they can bring when they join us in the decision-making process.”

Both video animations are available as a shared resource for all Northern Health staff to use to introduce and explain PROMs and SDM in a user-friendly format to patients. Northern Health partnered with Motion By Design to develop the two videos.