vi
the reader a clear guide toward implementation in real-life practice. Focusing on the
major values of “meaningful outcomes” in rheumatic diseases, this book with its 18
chapters fi lls an important void in the current literature. It represents what can be
considered to be the best current thinking on the role of PROMs in the management
of different rheumatic diseases. Therefore, this book can serve as both an excellent
introduction and a very good reference resource for implementation in standard
clinical practice and future reading.
This work has been the outcome of cooperative effort of a large international
group of leaders in PROMs. They have done a superb job in producing authoritative
chapters that include vast amounts of scientifi c and clinical data and provide state-
of- the-art descriptions of outcome measures encompassed in different rheumatic
diseases. Special thanks to my colleagues and family for their support throughout
the whole project, which helped to make this book complete.
Personally, I feel privileged to have compiled this work and am enthusiastic
about all that it offers our readers. I hope you too will fi nd this edition a uniquely
valuable educational resource.
London, UK Yasser El Miedany, MD, FRCP
Preface