[The viewpoints of doctor and patient]

Patient-related end points are generally used to open up opinions and perspectives to the patient, which he/she may not previously have had or not been aware of. Such end points can only be reached if, first, the patient's priorities are taken into account when assessing cost-effectiveness of a medical measure and, second, if the doctor acts to mediate between the individual patient's preferences and medical needs. This requires a doctor's effort to communicate: this cannot be left to chance but has in part to be freshly conceived and systematically employed.