PatientIQ | Blog

The Modern PRO Strategy That Nurses Need

Written by Addie Drillock | Jul 8, 2025 9:37:14 PM

Nurses are at the heart of patient care, and often the foundation of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) programs. But in many health systems, collecting PROs still involves disconnected workflows, manual outreach, and late-night documentation. 

It doesn’t have to be this way.

In 2025, the pressure to capture PROs is only increasing. The CMS Outpatient THA/TKA PRO-PM mandate is going into effect, and health systems are being held accountable for what patients say about their care. Yet too often, the responsibility for collecting and following up on those outcomes data falls to the care team—especially nurses.

It’s time to modernize how PROs get done. And that starts with making it easier for nurses.

Why Nurses Need Relief From Manual PRO Collection

In many health systems, nurses are still responsible for identifying eligible patients, manually sending survey reminders, tracking down incomplete responses, and entering data into the EHR or spreadsheets. It’s a labor-intensive process that pulls time away from direct patient care—and it’s becoming increasingly unsustainable.

Staffing shortages only compound the issue. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the U.S. is currently experiencing a significant nursing shortage, with projections indicating a deficit of over 78,000 nurses in 2025. 

By 2030, an estimated 1.2 million registered nurses will be needed to meet the demands of an aging population and ongoing healthcare reforms. Despite these systemic challenges, nurses are still making PRO programs work—but at a cost. It’s time to shift that burden off their shoulders.

The Good News: PRO Collection Doesn't Have to Be a Burden

PatientIQ is designed to automate and simplify the PRO process through seamless integrations with EHRs like Epic, AthenaHealth, Cerner, and more.

Instead of relying on manual work, PatientIQ can:

  • Directly integrate with your EHR using SMART on FHIR applications
  • Seamlessly enroll patients for PRO surveys based on procedure or diagnosis codes and clinical workflows
  • Automatically distribute PRO surveys through digital channels like email and SMS
  • Effortlessly access completed responses and data insights within each patient's profile in your EHR

This eliminates the need for nurses to manually track survey completion or transfer data into patient charts. Instead, responses are surfaced in real time, providing insight into how patients are progressing and flagging any issues for follow-up.

Better Outcomes For Patients and Nurses

When PROs are embedded in the EHR and fully automated, they become part of the care delivery process—not a separate task. That means:

  • Fewer phone calls and follow-ups
  • Less duplicate documentation
  • More time for meaningful patient interaction
  • Increased oversight into recovery challenges or complications

At UCHealth, for example, PatientIQ integrated with their Epic EHR to support high-volume PRO collection across the system—reducing manual work for care teams so they can stay focused on delivering exceptional patient care.

With PatientIQ, Nurses Can Do What They Do Best

Patient-reported data is powerful, but only when it’s easy to collect and use. PatientIQ gives nurses real-time visibility into what patients are experiencing, without requiring extra effort to get that data.

As PROs become central to value-based care, organizations need strategies that support—not strain—the people doing the work. That starts with better tools for nurses.

When nurses have what they need, patients benefit. And so do their outcomes.

Want to see how it works? Schedule a demo.