The importance of quality of life research for health care reform in the USA and the future of public health.

Quality of life research data have significant implications for the social and public policy in the USA as it can be used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of various permutations of treatment as well as the 'human effectiveness' of health care system restructuring. The USA spends more on health care per capita than any other industrialized nation, yet on major health indicators, such as infant mortality rate, this expenditure is not related to beneficial effects on the community. When epidemiological and quality of life data drive national health care planning, improved approaches to the management of health service delivery may become apparent. Ultimately only the patient or consumer can determine if a particular treatment is successful; the same may be true for health care reform.