Outcome Instruments for Prosthetics: Clinical Applications Allen W. Heinemann, PhD a,b, *, Lauri Connelly, OTR/L a , Linda Ehrlich-Jones, PhD, RN a,b , Stefania Fatone, PhD, BPO b INTRODUCTION: NATURE OF THE PROBLEM The American Board for Certification in Prosthetics, Orthotics and Pedorthics (ABC) accreditation standards are designed to enhance the quality of health care in pros- thetic and orthotic practice, and to help increase efficiency and support initiatives that improve patient outcomes. Facility accreditation helps ABC achieve specific Funding: This research was funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) of the US Department of Education under Grant No. H133E080009 (Principal Investigators: Steven Gard and Stefania Fatone). The opinions contained in this publication are those of the grantee and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Education. a Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 E Supe- rior Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; b Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 710 North Lake Shore Drive, #1022, Chicago, IL 60611, USA * Corresponding author. Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes, Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, 345 E Superior Street, Chicago, IL 60611. E-mail address: a-heinemann@northwestern.edu KEYWORDS  Artificial limbs  Amputation  Assessment of patient outcomes  Outcome and process assessment (health care)  Prostheses  Treatment outcome KEY POINTS  Accreditors expect prosthetists to monitor patient outcomes as part of routine clinical practice.  Outcomes of patient care can be performance-based or reported by patients.  Important aspects of care to be monitored include mobility, functional status, quality of life, and satisfaction with services.  Instruments may be developed specifically for adults with amputations or for general pop- ulations; several general-purpose instruments are suitable for adults with amputations.  Routine monitoring of outcomes allows clinicians to address patient concerns in a timely manner and to implement quality-improvement initiatives while fulfilling accreditation requirements.  Emerging information about responsiveness of outcome measures improves their clinical utility. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 25 (2014) 179–198 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2013.09.002 pmr.theclinics.com 1047-9651/14/$ – see front matter Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.