We can assist clients in two important areas of outcomes research and clinical assessment
Critical review and selection of appropriate outcomes measures
The Spectrum team provides a thorough appraisal of individual published outcomes and severity measures to suit our clients’ needs. Our clients expect and receive an exhaustive search of the literature and a comprehensive evaluation of each measure. The literature describing a measure’s validity, reliability, and responsiveness is appraised so that clients are well informed about which measures may provide the best assessment for clinical or research purposes. We can also facilitate the summary of multiple outcomes measures for entire medical specialties as needed. We have done this in both report and textbook format.
Development and validation of new disease severity and outcomes measures
The team at Spectrum is also experienced in the development and validation of new severity and outcomes measures, working interactively with clinicians and researchers to create the best possible instrument for the client’s needs. Our clinical trial operations has the expertise and experience to assist you in protocol development, study operations and data analysis which may be necessary requirements in the development of a valid, reliable, and responsive outcomes or severity measure.
We helped write the books on outcomes! Spectrum Research was instrumental in writing books on musculoskeletal and spine outcomes measures.
AO Handbook of Musculoskeletal Outcomes Measures and Instruments
The AO Handbook of Musculoskeletal Outcomes Measures and Instruments is designed to provide the reader with a user-friendly and comprehensive summary of the major musculoskeletal outcome instruments in use today.
This book’s purpose is three-fold:
- To facilitate the use of outcomes instruments in daily clinical practice;
- To ease the understanding of academic journal education and critical assessment; and
- To foster the development of new and improved outcomes instruments via standardized criteria.
The AOSpine Book of Outcomes Measures
Outcomes measures for back pain, spinal problems, and procedures help quantify patient status and progress.
This book has two purposes:
- To present an analysis of outcomes measures relevant to spine that will assist the researcher in selecting relevant, sensitive, quantitative, and objective outcomes variables for study design
- To assist clinicians in determining if a given measure is germane to their clinical practice.
For both groups, understanding spine outcomes will help facilitate improved care, care that is relevant and that matters to the patient.
The AOSpine Manual of Spine Severity Measures
A manual of spine severity measures, another product we helped develop, is the only book available that brings this number of severity measures into one volume, and the only book that provides a quantitative score that reflects a measure’s overall utility!
Spine severity measures or scales are useful in that they:
- Describe information such as a level of injury or disease that can be passed from one health care provider to another
- Help to predict the prognosis of a patient
- Suggest treatment in the context of other predictive variables such as age and gender
Spectrum’s experience in outcomes measure critique and development can work for you! Contact us! |
