Evolving applications for patient-centered health status measures

Area of Science:

• Health Outcomes Research
• Patient-Reported Outcomes

Background:

• Patient-centered health status measures (HSMs) have advanced significantly.
• Disease-specific HSMs for cardiovascular disease are now valid, reliable, and sensitive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the concept and interpretation of HSMs.
• To discuss the rationale and applications of HSMs in clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• Literature review focusing on the evolution and application of HSMs.
• Discussion of HSMs as meaningful outcomes, not surrogate markers.

Main Results:

• HSMs are meaningful outcomes of care, not surrogate measures.
• HSMs have emerging roles in clinical trials, patient monitoring, and disease management programs.

Conclusions:

• HSMs are vital for quality assessment and improvement.
• Increased clinician awareness of HSMs can advance patient-centered healthcare.