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What PROMs areWhich instrument, by jointWhen to administer themWhy they matter beyond the scoreKey takeaways
- PROMs are validated patient-reported questionnaires that quantify function and recovery.
- Match the instrument to the joint: KOOS (knee), HOOS (hip), ASES (shoulder), QuickDASH (upper extremity), FAAM (ankle/foot), LEFS (lower extremity).
- Administer at intervals — a baseline plus follow-ups — to make change visible.
- Beyond the score, PROMs support shared decisions, outcomes reporting, and documentation.
A pain score on a given day is a snapshot. A validated patient-reported outcome measure, taken at intervals, is a trend — and trends are what tell you whether a recovery is on track. PROMs turn “how are you feeling?” into something you can compare across time and patients.
What PROMs are
Patient-Reported Outcome Measures are standardized, validated questionnaires the patient completes about their own function, pain, and quality of life. “Validated” is the operative word: each instrument has been tested to produce reliable, comparable scores for a specific condition or joint.
Which instrument, by joint
| Region | Common instrument |
|---|---|
| Knee (OA / replacement) | KOOS Jr. |
| Knee (ligament / ACL) | IKDC |
| Hip | HOOS Jr. |
| Shoulder | ASES |
| Elbow / wrist / hand | QuickDASH |
| Ankle / foot | FAAM |
| General lower extremity | LEFS |
The right PROM is the one validated for the joint you're treating — a knee score from a shoulder instrument tells you nothing.
When to administer them
The value is in the comparison, so PROMs are administered at intervals: a baseline (pre-op or at the start of the episode) and then follow-ups aligned to the recovery timeline — commonly at a few weeks, a few months, and longer-term checkpoints. One score is data; a baseline plus follow-ups is a recovery curve.
Why they matter beyond the score
- Shared decisions — objective function data grounds the conversation about how recovery is going.
- Outcomes reporting — aggregate PROM trends are the cleanest story you can tell about your results.
- Documentation — structured, validated outcomes strengthen the clinical record.
BoneArc matches the right instrument to each patient's procedure, schedules it by recovery interval, and scores it on submission — so the outcome data accrues without anyone chasing forms.
RTM left on the table is usually a bookkeeping problem, not a coding one.
BoneArc tracks data-days, review time, and the attested call — so the billable work is documented as it happens.
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