Outcomes Research Primer

Abstract

O u t c o m e s research is the scientific study of the outcomes of diverse therapies used for a particular disease, condition, or illness. 1,2 The goals of this type of research are to document treatment effectiveness, to create treatment guidelines, and to study the impact of insurance status or reimbursement polices on outcomes of care. 3,4 Increasingly, otolaryngology providers are being asked by third-party payers, managed care organizations, and other organizations to document treatment outcomes.The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Foundation has recently begun a research grant program specially targeted to support outcomes research projects in otolaryngology, Each year more instruction courses on outcomes research axe offered at the annual AAO-HNS meeting. Clearly, the AAO-HNS membership are more interested in outcomes research than ever before. For that reason, we decided to prepare this Primer on outcomes research. It is our hope that this primer will provide the interested reader with a "starting" point to explore the published literature on outcomes research. We do not claim that this primer is exhaustive and admit that many excellent articles may have been omitted. Furthermore, we recognize that the field of outcomes research continues to grow, and we plan periodic updates to include new articles describing these new developments.

Radiofrequency Turbinate Reduction: A NOSE Evaluation

“…Outcomes research differs from traditional clinical research in that the former uses an observational design to measure response to treatment from the patient's perspective in a “real‐world” setting rather than in a highly selected and constrained experimental setting 24 . Expanded measures of outcomes are studied through a nonrandomized design that includes patient‐based measures of symptoms, functional status, emotional consequences of a disease and its treatment, and satisfaction with care 25 . Outcomes research provides level two evidence‐based research 26 .…”

“…24 Expanded measures of outcomes are studied through a nonrandomized design that includes patient-based measures of symptoms, functional status, emotional consequences of a disease and its treatment, and satisfaction with care. 25 Outcomes research provides level two evidence-based research. 26 The most widely used instrument for general health and the best example of a "generic" HRQL instrument is the Medical Outcomes Study Short-form 36-item Health Survey.…”

Négrevergne Otoplasty Technique

“…Conversely, the method described by Négrevergne is a posterior cartilage weakening technique. 10,11 However, there is no validated instrument with testretest reliability and internal consistency scores for assessing the outcomes of an otoplasty procedure. This Outcomes in facial plastic surgery are highly subjective and are measured by the unclear concept of "patient satisfaction."…”

Outcomes Research and Facial Plastic Surgery

“…The basic steps involved in performing patient-based outcomes research are as follows: first, identify and define the disease or procedure of interest; next, create a staging system for disease severity (if applicable); then Outcomes research has been defined as the scientific study of the outcomes of disease therapies used for a particular disease, condition, or illness. 1 It has also been described as the science of measuring patient experience. 2 Although all patient-based research measures some "outcome" of treatment, the outcomes measured in "outcomes research" are unique because they are measured from the patient's perspective and because they usually represent expanded measures of outcome, such as quality of life, and health perception rather than traditional clinical endpoints, such as survival, complication rate, or millimeters of scleral show.…”