Like clinical trials, outcomes research seeks to provide evidence about which interventions work best for which types of patients and under what circumstances.
Also, while traditional clinical trials focus primarily on therapeutic efficacy and safety, outcomes research may consider additional parameters such as cost, timeliness, convenience, geographical accessibility and patient preferences.
Patients also have a significant stake in outcomes research because it facilitates their decision-making, both in deciding what intervention is best for them given their circumstances, and as members of the public who have ultimately to pay for medical services.
The c. 1847 work of Ignaz Semmelweis on the association between puerperal fever and the absence of aseptic procedures (specifically, doctors who failed to clean their hands before delivering babies) and the subsequent use of calcium hypochlorite to reduce risk, is an early example of outcomes research.
After returning to England, Nightingale studied variation in childbirth practices at home and at institutions and their effect on maternal mortality.
[citation needed] Around the beginning of the twentieth century, professional organizations and hospital authorities began to adopt a standard form of medical record.
[6] Archie Cochrane's 1971 Rock Carling Fellowship monograph Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services clarified a number of key concepts in outcomes research and evidence-based medicine.
[9] Carolyn Clancy and John Eisenberg's 1998 Science paper emphasized the importance of considering patients' experiences, preferences and values in outcome evaluation, as well as the needs of those who provide, organize and pay for healthcare, including the public.