Why ePRO is a separate layer
Pain, nausea, fatigue or breathlessness cannot reliably be inferred from activity or heart rate alone. Patient reports therefore need their own validated questions and response pathway.
A minimum safe pathway
- The patient knows what is monitored and when not to wait for the system.
- Thresholds, working hours and expected response are documented.
- Signals go to an accountable team for review, not to the patient as treatment advice.
- Missing data are never interpreted as stability.
What remains to be demonstrated
A device-specific pilot should evaluate data quality, acceptability, false signals, workload and prespecified outcomes in the exact population and treatment pathway.