Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) in the dysplasia clinic in the oral medicine department at the University of Liverpool dental hospital

In the Oral Medicine department at the University of Liverpool Dental Hospital, there are monthly designated Dysplasia clinics whereby patients are reviewed following their clinical and/or their histological diagnosis of intra-oral Dysplasia. The Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) tool adopted from the “Guide for Commissioning Oral Surgery and Oral Medicine” [1] has been utilised to obtain patient feedback following their consultation. This tool allows for a simple, reproducible and quantifiable avenue for collecting how patients have perceived their experience and care through the department. The objectives of this tool, designed as a patient questionnaire was completed following meeting with a clinician on these designated clinics. This questionnaire (as seen in figure 1) collected information concerning the quality of service provided in the Oral Medicine department. Enabling the department to identify possible areas for improvement and hence consider altering patient’s experiences through the Dysplasia clinic. A total of 100 questionnaires were distributed and the data inputted on an Excel spreadsheet to analyse the results and comments from the participants. It is of paramount importance and in line with the General Dental Council’s Standards for the Dental Team document [2] that a high standard of patient care and a good quality of professional value is maintained during managing patients. It is arguably of particular importance with these clinics as often patients diagnosed with dysplasia can exhibit understandably anxiety when considering the malignant potential.

Author(s): Melissa Loh

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