Is this working? The importance of outcome measures in herbal & naturopathic practice

An acknowledged strength of herbal and naturopathic medicine is its patient-centred focus, yet critics often state that these disciplines lack evidence of efficacy. Assessing efficacy of the individualised care practices of herbalists and naturopaths is not always an easy process, for clinicians or for researchers. The incorporation of outcome measures, especially patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in clinical practice has the potential to improve the assessment of efficacy at the individual patient level. Additionally, increased use of outcome measures in published case studies may assist in evidence generation which is consistent with the individualised care philosophies inherent to naturopathic and herbal medicine. This commentary piece will introduce the reader to the concept of outcome measures, discuss their nature, and point out some of the benefits as well as barriers to their widespread use.