Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) are described using a range of overlapping terms that vary across healthcare settings and disciplines. In broader health systems, they may be referred to as patient experience measures, satisfaction surveys, or consumer feedback tools, while in mental health they often include measures of therapeutic alliance, session feedback, or client experience. Regardless of terminology, all aim to capture how care is experienced and use this insight to improve quality, engagement, and service delivery.
While PREMs are often collected at key timepoints (e.g., post-visit or discharge) across healthcare, in mental health they are frequently embedded session-by-session within frameworks such as Feedback-Informed Treatment (FIT) and deliberate practice. This enables real-time monitoring of the therapeutic relationship and patient experience, supporting early identification of issues and more responsive, collaborative care.

A 5-item patient-reported experience measure assessing the therapeutic relationship, including feeling understood, collaboration, and confidence in treatment, to support feedback, engagement, and effectiveness.
A brief patient-reported experience measure capturing a client’s immediate session experience, including relationship quality, relevance, and feeling understood, to support early feedback, engagement, and responsiveness.
Often used in mental health services to capture how consumers experience care, including respect, being heard, involvement in decisions, support, and overall satisfaction, to inform quality improvement and person-centred care.
A patient-reported outcome measure capturing overall perceived change over time, typically from “very much worse” to “very much better,” used to quickly assess treatment effectiveness from the patient’s perspective, and more commonly adopted in physical health than mental health settings.
A brief patient-reported experience measure used in mental health, particularly child and adolescent settings, to capture whether care was helpful, if individuals felt heard, and overall satisfaction, informing evaluation and quality improvement.
The Client Satisfaction Survey (CSS) is a brief patient-reported experience measure assessing overall satisfaction with care, including service quality, helpfulness, communication, and feeling supported, to inform improvement and service quality.
The Friends and Family Test (FFT) is a brief patient-reported experience measure asking if a patient would recommend a service, providing a simple, high-level indicator of satisfaction and supporting service improvement.
A brief patient-reported experience measure, popularised by Scott D. Miller, capturing session-by-session feedback on the therapeutic relationship and perceived benefit of care to support engagement, responsiveness, and improved outcomes.
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple experience measure asking how likely someone is to recommend a service (0–10), providing a high-level indicator of satisfaction and loyalty, though less clinically specific than validated PREMs.
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