Introduction to Commentary: Exploiting Opportunities Created by the Patient-Reported Measurement Information System in Pediatric Psychology

Patient recorded outcomes [e.g. health-related quality of life (HRQOL), functional status, etc.] have assumed increasing importance in research and clinical care in the fields of pediatrics and pediatric psychology (Palermo et al., 2007; Varni, Limbers, & Burwinkle, 2007) for several cogent reasons: (a) these measures are sensitive to the issues associated with health status that are most important and salient to children and their families in evaluating outcomes of medical treatment; (b) patient-reported outcomes complement and extend the evaluation of medical treatments beyond the traditional measures of psychological status, biomarkers, and symptoms; (c) data that are generated from patient-reported outcomes can facilitate communications among children, families, and providers, inform shared decision making concerning medical treatment and improve children’s well-being (DeWit et al., 2008). However, widespread clinical application of patient-reported outcomes and generalizability of findings across settings and chronic conditions in the field of pediatric psychology are needed. In their article, Forrest and colleagues describe the application of the Patient-Reported Measurement Information System (PROMIS ) for children and youth and implications for the field of pediatric psychology. This introduction highlights several of the salient issues raised by Forrest et al. (2012) for the field of pediatric psychology.