The Role of Core Outcome Sets for Pharmaceutical Care Research

Abstract

The development and implementation of core outcome sets can help support the generation of high-quality evidence for pharmaceutical care research, which in turn can help improve outcomes for patients. The concept of COSs is relatively new and a robust, evidence-based methodology for developing and implementing COSs is not yet fully established. The processes described in the COMET Handbook (Version 1.0) represents what is known to be best practice at the time of publication. However, there remain some uncertainties regarding the impact of different methodological decisions made during the development of a COS. For example, how to choose the best consensus technique, or how outcomes are prioritized for inclusion in a COS. Furthermore, guidance regarding how to reduce the number of outcomes specified in a COS to a number that can practicably be measured and reported in an RCT is needed. The handbook is likely to be updated periodically as more research is undertaken [4]. A key message for COS developers is to be transparent with regard to the methods used during COS development studies. An accurate description of how and why key decisions during the COS development process are made, and the outcome of those decisions, will not only encourage uptake of the developed COS but will help guide the refinement of COS development methodology.