Clinical outcome assessment (COA)

A COA describes how a person functions, feels, or survives. It may be reported by a patient, healthcare provider, a non-clinical observer (e.g., a parent or caregiver), or through the performance of a task or activity.  

There are four types of COAs, and while each focus on the patient, they describe the different perspectives on the patient’s health status: 

• Clinician-reported outcomes (ClinROs): reports from a trained healthcare professional that include their interpretation of observable behavior and signs. 
• Patient-reported outcomes (PROs): information on the patient’s health condition as reported by the patient, without outside interpretation from others. These are often assessed using numeric rating scales, questionnaires, or diaries.
• Observer-reported outcomes (ObsROs): reports from those who observe the patient in daily life (e.g., parent, caregiver) on observable events, signs, or behaviors. 
• Performance outcomes (PerfOs): measurements collected when the patient is asked to complete a standardized task.