Update on measurement of relevant outcomes in rheumatology.

It is now recognized that disease has a multidimensional impact on patients' lives. This impact can be perceived as a spectrum encompassing on one end "hard" disease outcomes such as organ failure and mortality, and on the other end "soft" outcomes such as quality of life or patient satisfaction. This spectrum may be viewed as a framework in measuring both disease impact and response to treatment. In this paper, we review improvements in the methodology of measurement of relevant outcomes and highlight new findings and emerging trends in rheumatology.