Standardising health outcome measurements in general practice

Outcome measures are gaining importance especially in areas such as divisions of general practice. The plethora of outcome measurements and the rhetoric surrounding this may make it difficult for doctors to decide the place of such measures in daily practice. An understanding of outcomes and their indicators is emerging as an essential requirement for good practice.

The aim of this paper is to propose a practical framework for describing health outcome measurements that may be applied to general practice.

This paper outlines the key features of outcomes measurements and proposes a model for understanding health outcome indicators using a set of indicators relevant to clinical practice.

Pertinent to developing outcome terminology for use with patients in general practice are the four key features: a clear description of the indicator utility in practice comparability between practices endurance over time.

To have reliability and validity and be able to deliver outcomes with practical and clinical significance, we need to be sure that the instruments we use are precisely defined. It is also important that the meaning is universally understood by all who might want to use the instruments. The product should also have cultural applicability beyond English. In clinical practice, the definition of the instrument aims not only to give the general practitioner a clear understanding of what is being measured but how it is used and the implications for its future use.