Digital Toolkit for Outcome Measurement in Orthotics

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The use of structured, valid and reliable outcome measures within prosthetics and orthotics is considerably varied across clinical settings. This means it is difficult to evaluate clinical interventions, elicit health behaviour change in users, and most importantly enable patients to engage in their care Outcome measures can be applied for multiple purposes, from setting patient focused goals to assessing quality of life, quantifying device/treatment performance and evaluating patient satisfaction with a clinical service. To be effective, they should be developed with user and stake-holder input to ensure they are both relevant, understandable and easy to use. Currently a range of validated and bespoke paper questionnaires (including objective and patient reported outcome measures) or specific functional assessments (including timed walk tests and comfort/fit scores) are applied. This multitude of independent scores combined with clinical observation data can often lead to a complex set of metrics for each patient which are not easy to interpret over time. Attempts to standardise the practice exist through recommended tool sets (BAPO, ISPO:AMPROM) yet challenges remain to integration into routine clinical practiceOpportunities exist to integrate the data collected across multiple outcome measures using a common digital platform, making it easier for patients and clinicians to access when it is most relevant and monitor progress over time. Giving patients this access promotes engagement and can be used to inform and support a change in behaviour (if patients needs are appropriately identified)