Clinical & Healthcare Concepts

An OMERACT Core Area focused on survival outcomes — including mortality, time to death, and life expectancy — ensuring that research considers whether interventions affect how long patients live.

A healthcare professional who provides direct patient care — diagnosing, treating, and managing illness or injury — typically in hospitals, clinics, or community settings.

A medical or scientific professional who designs, runs, or analyzes clinical trials, ensuring they are ethical, scientifically sound, and meet regulatory standards.

A disease or condition that persists for a long time — often months, years, or a lifetime — and typically requires ongoing management rather than a single cure.

A person — family member, friend, or professional — who helps someone who cannot fully care for themselves, supporting their daily activities, health needs, and overall well-being.

The positive effects of a treatment or intervention, such as improved health or quality of life. Benefits can be short- or long-term, and even no treatment can sometimes be beneficial. Good descriptions include how strong the effect is, how long it lasts, and how often people experience it.

Unwanted or harmful side effects caused by a treatment or medication. These can be mild or serious, short-term or long-term, and should be described in terms of how severe they are, how often they occur, and how long they last.

Unwanted medical occurrences that happen during or after a treatment, but that may or may not have been caused by it. They can range from mild to severe and may appear immediately or over time.