Rugpoli conducts research into the effectiveness and efficiency of its care. We ask all patients to participate in this research. More information about the research, expectations, participating and privacy can be found below.

Study design

Our quality of care research consists of four questionnaires which you receive during one year. The answers you provide will be used to monitor our quality of care and if possible improve our care. This research makes it possible for Rugpoli to adapt to the wishes and needs of our patients. Your answers are stored in your our research file. This file can only be accessed by the research employees of Rugpoli and is inaccessible for all other staff, including your doctors etc. Your answers are analyzed together with the answers of all other participating patients. We combine this data with medical data such as diagnoses and given treatments, so we can get a clear image of the quality of our care. Since 2019 we can also compare our outcomes of care to the outcomes of care of other European pain centers. These results can never be traced back to you as a person by the outside world. Only the research employees of Rugpoli can access your data. You can find our latest outcomes of care here.

What is expected of me when I participate

Prior to your first appointment you will receive an invitation by e-mail for participating in our quality of care research. This research consists of questions regarding to your personal situation, pain, disability and quality of life. After completing the first questionnaire, you will receive similar follow-up questionnaires after three, six and twelve months.

Voluntary participation

Your participation is voluntary. If you consent to participating in this research, you can always withdraw your consent. You do not need to provide a reason for withdrawing your consent. Participating or not participating in this research does not have any consequences for your treatment or relationship with your doctor.

Data confidentiality

Your data is processed and stored in compliance with European privacy legislation (GDPR). You can be assured that all data gathered from you during this research, is treated confidentially and non-authorized people have no access to your data. Also, when data is published, this can never be traced back to you as a person.

Risks and conditions to participate

There are no risks when participating in our quality of care research. You can participate when:

• You are at least 18 years old;
• You are a new patient at Rugpoli, or;
• You have been patient at Rugpoli in the past (longer than one year ago).

If after reading this information you still have questions, please contact Marije Pol, Marloes Kokkelink, or Elmar Kleinjan via onderzoek@rugpoli.nl.