title: [Patient-reported outcomes (PRO): historical profile, definitions, classifications and problems].
abstract: This contribution deals with the use, within healthcare systems, of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), i.e., all measures aimed at quantifying the state of health through the evaluation of outcomes reported by the patient himself. A survey of their cultural background, identified in the patient-centered model of medicine, is followed by a delineation of their historical profile (from 1914, the year of the first outcome measure, to the more recent examples of their use in clinical trial and practice), a classification based on the size they wish to detect and the reconstruction of the main lines of debate around their use in health care.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Bioetica, Facoltà di Medicina e chirurgia A. Gemelli, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Roma, Italia. pietro.refolo@rm.unicatt.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Refolo
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mele
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Minacori
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Spagnolo
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000145:classification / Q000639:trends; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018802:Patient-Centered Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires