Why Outcome Measures in Dermatology Are Becoming Patient Centric

Purpose of Review: Many “validated” treatment outcome assessments in clinical trials fail to include outcomes important to patients. This review will focus on recent efforts to revise and make patient-centric clinical trial outcomes used in psoriasis, acne vulgaris, atopic dermatitis, and hidradenitis suppurativa. Recent Findings: Over recent years, international coalitions have been formed to revise the investigator-oriented “validated” measures (e.g., PASI, IGA) in order to incorporate outcomes important to patients These not only include quality of life (QoL) assessments but also the anatomic location, physical discomfort, and appearance. This review discusses work underway to include patients in formatting revised outcome assessments. Summary: Historically, outcome measures have been developed by clinicians and pharmaceutical companies for use in clinical trials. Nonetheless, a movement is underway supported by regulatory agencies, government officials, and patient advocacy groups to include patients in the process of redesigning clinical trial outcome measures.