BACKGROUND: The use of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in clinical practice is gaining increasing attention. This study aimed to provide a critical assessment of the current state-of-the-art and beliefs about the use of PRO in the management of people with epilepsy across some European countries. METHODS: Structured interviews were conducted with European experts to collect insights about (I) the personal experience with PRO; (II) the value and impact of PRO in the decision-making process at the national level; and (III) the interest for and use of PRO by national health authorities. RESULTS: Nine neurologists (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, and United Kingdom), three health economists (Portugal, Romania, and Sweden), and one epidemiologist (Slovakia) participated. They all stated that PRO are collected at their own countries in the context of clinical trials and/or specific projects. During everyday clinical practice, PRO are collected routinely/almost routinely in Austria and Sweden and only at the discretion of the treating physicians in Czechia, Denmark, France, Greece, and Portugal. There was complete consensus about the favorable impact that the PRO can have in terms of clinical outcomes, healthcare resources utilization, and general patient satisfaction. Only participants from Portugal and Sweden answered that the PRO are perceived as very important by the National Health Authorities of their respective countries. CONCLUSIONS: Differences exist in attitudes and perspectives about PRO in epilepsy across Europe. An active plan is warranted to harmonize the measurement of PRO and ensure they can be relevant to people with epilepsy and health services.

1st Department of Neurology AHEPA University Hospital Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Greece

Center for Medicine of the Elderly Kepler University Hospital Johannes Kepler University Linz Austria

Centre for Health Studies and Research of the University of Coimbra Coimbra Portugal

Department of Clinical Neurophysiology Danish Center for Sleep Medicine Rigshospitalet Denmark

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Pharm In Ltd Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Neurology 2nd Faculty of Medicine and Motol University Hospital Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Department of Neurology 4Brain Ghent University Hospital Gent Belgium

Department of Neurology Medical College Jagiellonian University Krakow Poland

Faculty of Public Health Slovak Medical University Bratislava Slovakia

Institute of Systems Molecular and Integrative Biology University of Liverpool Liverpool UK

Neurological Clinic Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine Marche Polytechnic University Ancona Italy

Research Centre for Tourism Sustainability and Well Being Universidade do Algarve Faro Portugal

School of Public Health Babes Bolyai University Cluj Napoca Center for Health Outcomes and Evaluation Cluj Napoca Romania

The Swedish Institute for Health Economics Lund Sweden

Unité d'épileptologie CHU Pontchaillou Rennes Rennes France

Universidade do Algarve ESGHT Faro Portugal

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