Do health-status measures play a role in improving treatment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

During the past few decades, health status has become increasingly important in the clinical research of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The use of health-status questionnaires in routine practice can enhance understanding about the impact of the disease on the patient, improve standardisation and increase compliance through increased patient satisfaction. However, before health-status measurement in individual patients can be used in routine practice, questionnaires have to be validated on an individual level. In this article, the authors suggest a new method of assessing this individual validity, to enhance the use of health-status instruments in daily clinical practice, and thus improve treatment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.