Examining patient benefit

ABSTRACT Healthcare policy, clinical practice and research all declare patient benefit as their avowed aim. Yet, the conceptual question of what exactly constitutes has received much less attention than practical means realising it. Currently, three key areas unclarity make achieved, real-world impact hard to quantify disconnect it from magnitude endeavour: (1) distinction between objective subjective benefit, (2) relation individual population measures (3) optimal measurement in studies. A philosophical understanding wellbeing is required clarify these problems. Adopting a rigorous framework makes apparent that differing goals clinicians, researchers funders may conceptions appropriate. proposed for developing rigour methods specifying measuring matching different contexts.