Why PROMIS®?
PROMIS By the Numbers
PROMIS is backed by a large and growing body of scientific evidence and widespread real-world adoption, capturing the patient’s voice to measure what matters most.
6,300+ Peer-reviewed Publications
An extensive body of evidence demonstrates robust scientific validity and growing research adoption.
1,000+ NIH-funded Grants
Growing federal support shows sustained confidence in PROMIS research and use.
103 Languages Available
Translated PROMIS measures support clinical care, research, and quality measurement worldwide, including use in 1,600+ licensed clinical trials.
70+ API Licensees
The Assessment Center API is trusted by health systems, EHR vendors, pharmaceutical companies, and ePRO platforms to deliver PROMIS measures at scale.
117 Epic Health Systems
The Epic PROMIS Application brings PROMIS measures into routine clinical care, with many health systems administering over 1 million assessments annually.
360+ Digital Integrations
In addition to Epic and API-powered platforms, numerous digital tools have implemented PROMIS through the HealthMeasures Electronic Administration Permission (HEAP) process for research, clinical care, and quality measurement.
182+ Countries
PROMIS National Centers in 20+ countries support local implementation and harmonization of PROMIS measures globally.
Clear Clinical Value
PROMIS delivers clinical insight with operational efficiency. Beyond scientific strength, it offers scalable benefits that align with health system priorities.
Effective and Streamlined
- Reduced respondent burden: PROMIS Computer Adaptive Tests (CATs) typically require only 4 items, a fraction of the 10-30 items characteristic of traditional fixed-length measures.
- Greater statistical precision: CATs increase power, allowing smaller sample sizes in research studies and better detection of meaningful change.
- Streamlined data collection: One standardized system replaces a fragmented landscape of legacy measures, reducing administrative complexity, staff training burden, and data management overhead across domains.
Ready to Implement
- Already available in major platforms including Epic, REDCap, and Assessment Center API-powered tools, fitting existing clinical and research workflows without custom development.
- Easy scoring (T-score mean of 50, SD of 10) reduces training burden and simplifies interpretation across clinical and research teams.
Required by Leading Organizations
- Mandated or recommended by major medical boards, federal agencies, and national healthcare registries.
- PROMIS meets reporting requirements across clinical care, research, and quality measurement.
Superior Measurement Properties
PROMIS measures are designed to capture the full range of health experience, from the most severe symptoms to optimal functioning.
Extended Measurement Range
Legacy fixed-length measures often fail to discriminate at the extremes of health. PROMIS computer adaptive tests (CATs) capture meaningful differences across the full spectrum, minimizing floor and ceiling effects.
Dynamic Assessment
PROMIS CATs adapt in real-time to each respondent, selecting only the most informative items, delivering precise measurement with fewer questions than traditional fixed-length instruments.
Linking Capabilities
PROsetta Stone provides crosswalk tables that convert legacy measure scores to PROMIS scores, protecting the value of existing data when transitioning to PROMIS.
Methodological Innovation
PROMIS measures are built on modern psychometric methods that set them apart from legacy measures in precision, comparability, and flexibility.
Item Response Theory
PROMIS uses Item Response Theory, a modern psychometric framework that delivers more precise measurement across the full range of a health domain than classical measurement methods.
Common Metric
A universal T-score scale enables direct comparisons across domains, populations, studies, and time points, capturing meaningful change where legacy tools fall short.
Modular Design
PROMIS domains can be mixed and matched to fit specific clinical or research needs, or combined into comprehensive profiles like the PROMIS-29 that cover multiple health domains simultaneously.
Practical Advantages for Any Setting
PROMIS measures are designed to work across populations, settings, formats, and languages.
Universal
PROMIS measures can be used with people in the general population and with individuals living with chronic conditions. They can be used in clinical care, research, and population health.
Relevant
PROMIS measures capture the important symptoms, functions, behaviors, and feelings that matter most to patients.
Flexible
PROMIS scores from different measures (e.g., 4-item short form, 8-item short form, CAT) can be compared.
Accessible
PROMIS measures are available in paper and digital formats, as well as integrated into widely used electronic health records and ePRO platforms.
Translated
PROMIS translated measures support clinical care, research, and quality measurement across diverse languages and cultures worldwide.
Interpretable
PROMIS measure scores have a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10 in the general population.
Complementary
PROMIS measures work alongside disease-specific instruments, allowing clinicians and researchers to combine universal health domains with condition-specific content.
Age-Inclusive
PROMIS offers measures for adults and children as young as 1-year-old.
Endorsed, Required, and Trusted
PROMIS has earned recognition from the organizations that set standards for clinical measurement, from federal agencies and medical boards to international bodies and quality programs.
FDA and EMA
PROMIS measures have been formally qualified and accepted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) for use in clinical trial submissions and regulatory decision-making across multiple therapeutic areas, providing a clear regulatory pathway for sponsors incorporating PROMIS into drug and device development programs. Learn more about the FDA qualification.
Federal Quality Programs
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has incorporated PROMIS into multiple major quality initiatives: These include the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), which uses PROMIS Physical Function and Pain Interference for quality reporting, and the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment model, which includes the PROMIS Global Health scale.
National Healthcare Registries
The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) includes PROMIS Global Health, Pain Interference 4a, Fatigue 4a, and Physical Function 4a across 65 participating hospitals.
The American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) recommends PROMIS Global Health alongside joint-specific measures, with over 630 sites submitting patient-reported outcomes data.
Medical Board Certification
The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) requires all Part II Oral Examination candidates to collect PROMIS Physical Function and Pain Interference data from patients at 6 and 12 months post-operatively.
International Standards
PROMIS measures are included in nearly half of the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) condition-specific Standard Sets for international value-based healthcare, spanning conditions from addiction and heart failure to stroke and pediatric health.
NIH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends PROMIS as a common data element (CDE) across NIH-funded studies, facilitating data harmonization and cross-study comparability at the federal level.
PROMIS in Routine Clinical Care
Beyond its strong research foundation, PROMIS is being used broadly in routine clinical care across many specialties, settings, and countries.
Breadth of Clinical Use
A scoping review of published literature and conference proceedings conducted by the HealthMeasures team in 2026 identified 428 studies documenting PROMIS use in routine clinical care at 77 unique institutions:
- Implementation spanned 9 countries–the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Bolivia, and Hungary.
- Specialties included orthopedics, oncology, rheumatology, dermatology, neurology, general surgery, behavioral health, and more than 20 others.
- Institutions implemented PROMIS in routine clinical care continuously since 2008, with new institutions adopting each year.
- PROMIS is integrated with electronic health records at 44% of institutions.
Clinical Team Experiences
A survey of clinicians, researchers, and administrative staff actively using PROMIS in routine care was conducted by the HealthMeasures team in 2023 across more than 20 specialties at 43 institutions. Key findings were:
- Clinical teams consistently rated PROMIS as worthwhile, clinically relevant, and statistically reliable
- Nearly half of the institutions replaced legacy outcome measures with PROMIS entirely.
- 84% of clinical teams discussed PROMIS results with patients during office visits.
- CATs were used at 72% of institutions, reflecting widespread commitment to precision measurement with reduced patient burden.
- 69% of institutions had dedicated staff supporting PROMIS implementation, reflecting the organizational commitment required for sustained clinical use.
Last updated: September 14, 2026