Are routine outcome measures feasible in mental health?

Can mental health outcome measures be developed which meet the following three criteria: (1) standardised, (2) acceptable to clinicians, and (3) feasible for ongoing routine use? We shall argue that the answers at present are “yes”, “perhaps”, and “not known”, respectively. Standardised ratings of outcomes of interest to patients and clinicians which go beyond symptom severity have been available for almost two decades. Some are composite global ratings, which include disability,1 while most measure specific domains of patient or carer function such as quality of life, needs, or satisfaction.23 When assessed against an array of psychometric characteristics,45 many of these scales have been shown to be well constructed in terms of their validity, reliability, and sensitivity. There is strong evidence therefore that the first criterion has been satisfied. …