KEY CONCEPTS

The evaluation of healthcare is increasingly focused on the as-sessment of the outcomes of medical interventions. An essential patient-reported outcome is self-assessed func-tion and well-being, or health-related quality of life (HRQOL). In certain chronic conditions, HRQOL may be the most impor-tant health outcome to consider in assessing treatment. Information about the impact of pharmacotherapy on HRQOL can provide additional data for making decisions regarding medication use. HRQOL instruments can be categorized as generic/general or targeted/specific. In HRQOL research, the quality of the data collection tool is the major determinant of the overall quality of the results. Although it has not involved the comprehensive reform that may be necessary, 1 the medical care marketplace in the United States continues to experience change in both the financing and delivery of care. 2 This change is evidenced by a variety of developments, including an increase in investor-owned organizations, heightened competition, numerous mergers and acquisitions, increasingly sophisticated clinical and administrative information systems, and new financing and organizational structures. In this dynamic and increasingly competitive environment, there is a concern that healthcare quality is being compromised in the push to contain costs. As a consequence, there has been a growing movement to focus the evaluation of healthcare on the assessment of the end results, or outcomes, associated with medical care delivery systems as well as specific medical interventions. The primary objective of this effort is to maximize the net health benefit derived from the use of finite healthcare resources