McGrail et al. have provided an important overview of an argument for the routine collection of patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) data as a critical step toward the improvement of population health in the Canadian healthcare system. In this commentary, the authors argue that equal attention must be paid to knowledge translation in the implementation of routine collection of PROM data to ensure a high quality-clinical response if population health is to be improved. They also argue that, based on their experience in cancer, the complexity of the implementation of PROM data, particularly in chronic diseases, cannot be underestimated. Finally, the authors emphasize the need for standardization in the selection of core PROMs data for routine collection that builds on global efforts to advance the person-centredness of healthcare services and reflects the broad physical, emotional and social domains of health that will be important to capture in chronic disease.