WHY THE NHS SHOULD ABANDON THE SEARCH FOR THE UNIVERSAL OUTCOME MEASURE

This paper considers the use of outcome measures in the British Nation al Health Service (NHS). Measuring outcomes is a major conceptual and practical problem. Many different measures are currently available yet no consensus has been reached on which should be preferred over other s, or about which should take priority when they conflict. Some curren tly used measures are described, the relationship between these measur es and the measured activities are discussed, and fundamental problems with both the measures and their use are revealed. It is shown that h owever assiduous the search, the 'perfect' outcome measure will always remain elusive.