In this month’s blog we will focus on a highly innovative and important study, detailing an under appreciated area of importance in endoscopy- measuring patient experience during gastrointestinal procedures. The author’s rationale for the study centred on the lack of patient-centred measures of their own experience, with current measures typically being clinician derived. The study produced a structured patient-reported experience measure (PREM) for endoscopy that can be utilised as a quality measure for endoscopy centres and ensure that patient-centred care is adhered to.

The authors conducted this study in a number of phases. The initial phase involved thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with 35 patients, resulting in the identification of six themes- anxiety, expectations, information & communication, embarrassment & dignity, choice & control and comfort. Following this phase, the authors produced questions based around these themes and refined them into a formal questionnaire (pilot PREM).

This pilot PREM was distributed to over 1600 patients who had undergone a GI endoscopic procedure in North-East of England. Nearly 50% of patients responded to this. Using these data the authors ensured that the psychometric properties (i.e. the validity and reliability of the measurement tool) were robust. The final Newcastle ENDOPREM tool was then formulated to include 54 questions five procedural stages.

This article highlights the importance of a tool to measure patient experience of GI endoscopy. The authors highlight that this can now be used in both routine clinical care and research studies. Optimising patient experience should be an established measure when assessing new endoscopy techniques and may develop into an important measure for established endoscopists and trainees when assessing their performance.

For patients and clinicians interested in the use of this tool the authors are able to be contacted at their website- https://colospeed.uk/studies/endoprem/