title: Development and Validation of a Patient Reported Experience Measure (PREM) for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and other Rheumatic Conditions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patient experience is not routinely measured in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and no accepted standardised Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREM) tools currently exist. Commissioning for Quality in Rheumatoid Arthritis (CQRA) has developed, piloted and validated PREMs for RA and other rheumatic conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus groups were held with RA patients to identify key elements of the patient experience. These were mapped against the UK Department of Health Patient Experience Framework and a PREM questionnaire developed with questions specifically relating to RA and rheumatology services. The RA PREM was piloted and Cronbach's alpha used to assess internal consistency. The PREM was modified to capture experience of patients with other rheumatic conditions and further validated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten UK sites and 524 patients were included in the RA PREM pilot and validation analysis. The RA PREM reliably captured RA patient experience and had good construct validity. Cronbach's alpha within the multiquestion domains ranged from 0.61 to 0.90 and the percentage agreement ranged from 22.5% to 70.4% with overall care. The modified PREM was evaluated in 11 UK sites and 110 patients with a range of rheumatic conditions. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.76 to 0.91 and the percentage agreement similarly ranged from 70% to 90% with the question on overall care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The RA PREM and the modified PREM provide new valuable validated tools for capturing the patient experience in a range of rheumatic conditions. The RA PREM is currently being used in a UK National Clinical Audit of Rheumatoid and Early Inflammatory Arthritis.
authors.forename: Ailsa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bosworth
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Ify Sargeant, Ismedica Ltd, Pine Trees, Old Road, Wrinehill, Staffordshire, CW3 9BW, UK.
authors.forename: Ify
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sargeant
authors.forename: Alison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Marwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bukhari
keywords: Patient Reported Experience Measure; rheumatoid arthritis