What is care response?
Care Response is a collection of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS) which have been put together by the Royal College of Chiropractors to improve the level of care provided to patients of a clinic which utilises the system.
PROMS are surveys and questionnaires which are used to monitor your progress throughout your course of treatment at the clinic.
These questionnaires will evaluate your level of pain, its effect on your daily life, and your likelihood to respond to chiropractic treatment.
How does it work?
The Care Response form can be filled out online or on paper. These forms are quick and easy to fill out and the data is stored confidentially and securely.
Before your initial visit you will be asked to complete the first care response questionnaire. This will allow us to get numerical data about your complaint at the outset which is easy to monitor throughout your treatment with subsequent questionnaires.
The information you provide in these questionnaires is then formulated into various graphs and tables which will then be discussed with you throughout your treatment plan.
The anonymised data collected from the whole clinic will then be openly available for all current and future patient to view.
Why is it important to you?
As a new patient the main benefit you will experience is that care response allows us to formulate a more accurate prognosis for your condition.
We will be able to show you how patients with similar conditions benefitted from treatment so that you are aware of the potential outcome of treatments for the initial consultation. The forms will also help us to decide if you will benefit from chiropractic care alone or a combination of treatment and referral options. This will further help to improve your treatment progress.
As an existing patient the continued monitoring of care response will confirm that you are receiving continued lasting benefit from your treatment and not just a short term symptom relief.
Why is it important to the clinic?
This data is equally as important to the clinic as it is to the patients. The publication of the data for all patients to view ensures that we strive to provide the best possible care and maintain our standards month to month, year to year.
Positive data areas allow us to confirm that what we are currently doing is working. Equally, negative data areas highlight areas of improvement for the clinic which ultimately leads to better outcomes for staff and patients alike.
The data also serves as a way to validate the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment for musculoskeletal disorders. As more and more clinics across the country begin to publish their results, the chiropractic profession will be held in higher regard and greater standing within the medical community.