The feasibility of routine outcome measures in mental health

Background: Standardised outcome measures are not being used in routine men tal health care. Method: The importance of routine use of standardised outc ome measures is argued, and reasons for their lack of use suggested. Result s: One reason for standardised outcome measures not being used routinely is the lack of appropriate instruments. This property of being suitable for r outine use is often called feasibility, but there is no consensus about the meaning of feasibility, or how it should be measured. We propose a definit ion of feasibility as a psychometric property of a standardised outcome mea sure, provide criteria for assessing feasibility, and then present a framew ork for changing practice to increase the routine use of standardised outco me measures. Conclusions: If mental health care is to maximise outcome, the n more attention needs to be paid both to the process of developing and to facilitating the routine clinical use of feasible outcome measures.