Outcomes Measures

Validated Outcomes Measures are an effective means to deliver high quality improved Patient Care in a cost-effective manner. In the past, the Randomized Control Prospective Study has been considered the standard for validating treatment. Unfortunately, this is extremely expensive and time-consuming; also answering limited questions per study. “Outcomes” has, unfortunately, become a catchphrase and marketing tool instead of being used appropriately. Unfortunately, most Physicians, Patients and overseeing entities do not understand their use or effectiveness.

  1. True Outcomes Measures are collected directly from patients and not their treating physicians.
  2. Only statistically Validated Measures should be used. Individually conceived questionnaires may appear valid, but without rigorous evaluation may not be an accurate reflection of actual Patient Outcome.
  3. Data needs to be collected minimizing office interference and Patient Care while maintaining low cost.
  4. Three components are essential in true Validated Outcomes Measures:
    • Patient-Derived Outcomes Measures
    • Patient Demographics
    • Physician Information regarding Treatment, Complications, etc.

We built an effective means to achieve these ends in a secure environment with our own software development Ekiosk© which was developed prior to the widespread use of web-based data collection, allowing the collection any outcomes measure using a simple intuitive interface and Patient Credentials for security. From the year 2000 until 2014, we collected data on our patients for internal use and patient improvement with thousands of tracked visits.  The security of Web-based data collection is still of concern to me and adds complexity to patient care which many patients will not add to their treatment.

This is what true Patient Outcomes should be to be useful and effective in Improving Patient Care and lowering the cost of treatment. Using our own data for 14 years, I published an article in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.  The Article Abstract Authored by Dr. Goldstein on Validated Outcomes Measures in Clinical Practice can be seen at the link below:

Office Outcomes Measures: Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 2010 October; 468(10): 2640–2645

I am afraid of Web-based Orthopedic data collection methods because of the security risks using the Internet which was never designed for secure data transmission.  In addition, the need to collect Demographics again when this has been given to your physicians often on multiple occasions is difficult for patients and really unnecessary.  Also, Web-based data collection can only be of use if the Physician data is maintained up to date.  These are all big unknowns and limit adequate Web-based data collection efforts and their utility.