Study: Value found in physician-patient outcome assessment process

Editor's Note

A new scoring system reveals a strong agreement between patient-reported and physician-reported outcomes after surgery, the Mayo Clinic reports.

The study enrolled 100 patients who had elbow or shoulder surgery. The average time between surgery and follow-up was 31 months.

In the categorical ratings, patients and physicians agreed perfectly or within one category 96% of the time. In the numerical ratings, 34 ratings indicated disagreement between patient and attending surgeon; however, the patient rated the outcomes better than the surgeon in most cases.

Information gained from the “Summary Outcome Determination Score” helps physicians know more about how patients are doing and over time will help physicians set expectations for patients, the authors say.

The study will be published in the July issue of  Mayo Clinic Proceedings.