There is growing interest in the use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical care and for measuring performance, particularly for surgical care. PROs complement traditional clinical outcomes of morbidity and mortality and capture the patient’s perspective regarding the operation. For example, does a patient’s pain and mobility improve after a knee replacement? Does a patient’s sexual function remain intact after rectal cancer surgery? PROs may be more important to patients and caregivers than many traditional outcomes, and they may serve as a basis for truly patient-centered care.