OECD Patient-Reported Indicators Survey (PaRIS) in Canada: Results From the National Study

Context: The PaRIS-Survey, developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, provides international standards for reporting on health system performance. While collecting patient-reported experiences and outcomes is increasingly integrated into acute care, the PaRIS-Survey is the first primary care practice-based survey across multiple OECD countries.

Objective: Our objective is to compare health outcomes and experiences of patients with chronic conditions cared for in primary care settings.

Study Design and Analysis: Cross-sectional study design. We conducted descriptive and inferential statistics.

Setting or Dataset: Canadian primary care practices in 10 provinces.

Population Studied: Patients aged 45 years or older with at least one registered contact in the six months before study implementation. Primary care practices were the setting where patients were recruited.

Intervention/Instrument: A practice and patient survey were developed based on the PaRIS-Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) survey’s framework and standardized across 22 participating OECD countries. Providers completed the 34-item practice survey. The patient questionnaire (121 items) was organized around four domains related to health and experiences of primary care services and sociodemographic characteristics.

Outcome Measures: Patient-reported experiences and outcomes and practice characteristics.

Results: Across 8 provinces, more than 65 practices and 4630 patients participated. Seven out of 10 patients report they were not as involved as they wanted to be in decisions about their care; 69% reported they were not considered a “whole person” but just a disease. About 14% of patients reported Poor or Fair mental health, with an increase to 18% regarding physical health. One-third reported that pain interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Conclusions: The PaRIS-survey provides the only standardized primary care practice and patient-reported experience and outcome measures administered across Canada. These measures enable patients’ voices on outcomes and experiences of primary care that matter most. Understanding patient reported experiences and outcomes on a regular basis can be used to enable improved operational abilities meant to better meet the needs of patients accessing primary care.