Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS®)
More than 300 person-centered measures that evaluate and monitor physical, mental, and social health
PROMIS is a set of measures that are for adults, pediatrics (ages 8-17), and parents to report on their children (ages 1-17). They can be used for people in the general population or individuals living with a chronic condition.
Type of Measures
PROMIS includes multiple types of measures. We have many resources to help find the best measure for you.
- A fixed set of 4-10 items or questions for one domain.
- Items are part of a large collection of items (an item bank).
- Usually generates one score.
- Also known as fixed forms, static forms, and fixed length short forms.
- Items from an item bank (a large collection of items) are dynamically selected for administration based on a person’s previous answers.
- Between 4 and 8 items are administered with a high level of measurement precision (low error).
- Produces one score.
- Also known as dynamic forms.
- A CAT measure that uses the first item as a screener to determine if the respondent should continue with the rest of the CAT.
- The CAT ends for respondents who answer with the healthiest response to the first item (two items for pediatrics).
- The CAT continues for respondents who answer the first item with any other response.
- All respondents receive a score.
- Based on the same item bank as the standard CAT.
- Otherwise uses the same administration and stopping rules as the standard CAT.
- Respondents answer 1-8 items.
- High measurement precision (low error) for symptomatic respondents.
- A fixed collection of short forms or CATs from multiple domains.
- Produces one score for each domain.
Over 80 languages available in PROMIS measures
PROMIS measures can be implemented for digital and paper administration
PROMIS measures are integrated into the Epic electronic health record (via the Epic PROMIS application), multiple digital administration platforms, and can be integrated into other administration platforms via the Assessment Center API.
PROMIS scores have meaning
Applications for PROMIS Measures
Screen
PROMIS measures can be used to screen for symptoms or functional problems.
Monitor
PROMIS measures can be used to evaluate how a person’s health is changing over time. This includes monitoring a single patient receiving care and monitoring a group of participants in a study.
Evaluate Quality
PROMIS measures are included in measures that assess the quality of healthcare delivered by providers and organizations.
HealthMeasures partners with the PROMIS Health Organization (PHO)
HealthMeasures, hosted at Northwestern University, and the PROMIS Health Organization work collaboratively to support the development, maintenance, dissemination, and implementation of PROMIS measures around the world.
PROMIS History
The Beginning
In 2004, multiple National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes joined together to fund projects that were beyond the scope of what any single institute could do alone. Through this NIH Roadmap for Medical Research (later the Common Fund), they set out to address a measurement gap – specifically, creating a psychometrically sound, precise, flexible, efficient, interpretable, patient-centered, disease-agnostic set of patient-reported outcome measures. They aimed to have standardized metrics that would enable comparing and combining data. This would be accomplished through multi-center cooperative groups with more than 15 institutions. Together, they applied state-of-the-science methods including item response theory and advances in computer technology.
From Development to Implementation
The first ten years of funding (2004-2014) focused on measure development and validation. The next phase of funding (2014-2019) focused on the dissemination and implementation of PROMIS measures as well as transitioning to a self-sustaining funding model.
Rigorous Measure Development
PROMIS’s unique measure development:
- Aimed for measures to be applicable across different patient populations (i.e., “generic” or “universal”)
- Began with existing patient-reported outcome measures (“legacy” measures)
- Integrated patient perspectives throughout measure development
- Used qualitative and quantitative methods including item response theory
- Used methods to facilitate translatability
- Created large item banks and technology which enabled computer adaptive tests (CATs)
Explore PROMIS’s extensive advantages and applications at Why PROMIS?
Learn more about PROMIS Measure Development and explore key PROMIS Publications.
Last updated: September 14, 2026