THE ROUTINE USE OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-LIFE MEASURES IN THE CARE OF PATIENTS WITH EPILEPSY - RATIONALE AND RESEARCH AGENDA

Reliable and valid patient-completed questionnaires to assess the heal th related quality of life (HRQOL) of people with epilepsy are becomin g increasingly available. At present, however, they are not routinely used in epilepsy patients' care. The use of HRQOL measurement in clini cal practice settings may improve the quality of care for people with epilepsy through (1) increasing the detection of patients' problems wi th daily functioning and well-being: (2) guiding therapeutic managemen t; and (3) leading to improvements in patients' HRQOL and satisfaction with care. To realize the potential benefits of HRQOL assessment in t he care of people with epilepsy, research into the feasibility of the office-based use of HRQOL questionnaires, measurement quality, and the impact of routine HRQOL assessment on the quality of epilepsy patient s' care needs to be undertaken. The transfer of HRQOL questionnaires f rom research tools into clinical tools requires the collaboration of s ocial scientists, health services researchers, and clinicians. HRQOL q uestionnaires have the potential to become a new clinical tool which c ould enhance the quality of care physicians are able to provide for th eir patients with epilepsy.