The PaRIS Initiative

Patient-Reported Indicator Survey (PaRIS) is an initiative of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). OECD is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries. PaRIS is aimed at measuring outcomes and experiences of healthcare practitioners and patients/peoples.

The PaRIS initiative is the first ever large-scale international survey on outcomes and experiences of people with chronic conditions and their primary care providers. One part of the survey explores experiences, resources, support systems and outcomes of primary care providers providing care to people with chronic conditions, while another part assesses  patients’/persons’ experiences with access to care and management of their chronic conditions.

The PaRIS initiative was developed with policy/decision makers, academic researchers, healthcare providers, and patients using existing validated measurement tools consisting of the following sections: Your Health (PROMIS Global-10, and WHO-5), Managing your Health and Health Care (PorterNovelli), Your Experience of Health Care (P3CEQ) and demographics.

Canada, along with 22 other OECD member countries have implemented PaRIS as part of the strategy to strengthen primary care efforts and bridge gaps in the primary healthcare system. Leading the charge in Saskatchewan are Drs. Nazeem Muhajarine and Vivian R Ramsden who are the Co-Principal Investigators of the Canadian Primary Care Research Network for the province. They together with a team of collaborative partners including patient-partners are providing leadership and guidance to ensure successful implementation of PaRIS in the province. The team includes members from: the Ministry of Health, Government of Saskatchewan; Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA); Health Quality Council; Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research (SCPOR); Saskatchewan Medical Association; Saskatchewan Cooperative Community Clinics; and, the University of Saskatchewan’s Departments of Academic Family Medicine and Community Health and Epidemiology.

A field trial of the PaRIS initiative was undertaken at the West Winds Primary Health Centre and Saskatoon Community Clinic in September of 2022. This indicated that family physicians were invested in empowering their patients to engage in health promotion and self-care strategies utilizing health education. Additionally, patients most commonly rated their satisfaction with the care provided by their primary care physicians as very good to excellent. Local outreaches to primary care providers and clinics in the province are currently underway ahead of launching the main initiative of PaRIS on April 01, 2023.

To find out more on how you can contribute to the success of this initiative reach out to the Research Coordinator, Dr. Udoka Okpalauwaekwe at udokaokpala.uo@usask.ca.