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One cannot read a journal without seeing an article about outcomes. This is truly the decade that patient outcomes have received the attention of all healthcare providers. This is not to say we have not been concerned with outcomes all the time, just that we have not been committed to measuring the care we provide to our patients. Some healthcare providers didn't know how; some thought it too expensive and time consuming, and others did not have the administrative support.
Outcomes have our attention now. How has this happened? The government and other insurers became very concerned with the high costs of health care and were looking for ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the care. As healthcare agencies have said to payors, "Show me the money!" the payors have replied, "Show...