title: Measuring quality of life in a reformed health system.
abstract: "Quality of life" encompasses functional status, access to resources and opportunities, and sense of well-being. It offers a useful perspective on the value of health care, especially for chronically disabling conditions, including chronic mental illness. At least three major quality-of-life outcome assessment frameworks are available: general quality of life, health-related quality of life, and disease-specific quality of life. Choice of a framework must be driven by the intent of the services. For persons with chronic, disabling conditions, a general quality-of-life perspective is most appropriate, one that accounts not only for direct health outcomes but also for the potential social and economic effects of medical disability.
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D003284:Contract Services / Q000191:economics; D003363:Cost Control; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States