PRINCIPLES FOR ASSESSMENT OF PATIENT OUTCOMES IN MENTAL-HEALTH-CARE

With the dramatic changes that are occurring in mental health and subs tance abuse treatment systems, it is imperative that the field keep it s focus on the patient and the patient's outcomes of care. Outcomes ma nagement systems that measure the processes of care, the patient's cha racteristics, and the patient's outcomes of care can be helpful in mai ntaining this focus. To facilitate the development of these systems, t he Outcomes Roundtable, a group of mental health consumer, professiona l service, and policy-making organizations, has articulated a set of 1 2 broadly applicable principles of outcomes assessment. The principles call for outcomes assessments that are appropriate to the question be ing answered, that use tools with demonstrated validity and reliabilit y and sensitivity to clinically important changes over time, and that always include the consumer perspective. In addition, the principles r ecommend outcomes assessments that create minimal burden for responden ts and are adaptable to different health care systems, that include ge neral health status as well as mental health status, and that include consumers' evaluation of treatment and outcomes. Outcomes assessment t ools should quantify the type and extent of treatment, should include generic and disorder-specific information, and should measure areas of personal functioning affected by the disorder. Outcomes should be rea ssessed at clinically meaningful points in time. Outcomes assessment s hould use appropriate scientific design and representative samples and should examine outcomes of consumers who prematurely leave treatment as well as those who continue in treatment.