Health Outcomes Research (OR) groups exist in most major pharmaceutical companies and are currently challenged to quantify their productivity and value to the organization. Per a recent Tufts survey, industry leaders expect continued growth in OR departments substantiating the need for metrics. METHODS: Our OR Department, positioned within Clinical Research, was approached by upper management to create a metrics reporting system. The group discussed a comprehensive list of departmental activities until core items were agreed upon. Using a 0-10 scale, items were ranked by perceived value to the company using the Delphi technique. To approximate time expenditure, complexity categories (1=simple, 2=moderate, 3=complex), based on estimates of average number of workdays to complete each activity, were assigned to each item. RESULTS: An initial list of 20 items was reduced by the group to yield 11 core items: publications (1.8=Delphi weight), models (1.4), strategic plans (1.3), protocols (0.9), instrument development (0.9), research reports (0.9), abstracts (0.7), reviews (0.6), analysis plans (0.6), presentations (0.5), IPMs (0.4). The value-score was generated by multiplying the count of each item by its Delphi-weight then summed to result in a composite value-score. The complexity-score was calculated similarly. These two scores, reported separately to enhance understanding of both output and labor, were divided by the number of team members to produce productivity units per headcount. CONCLUSION: This metrics system represents one approach to valuing OR group contributions. We have implemented a validation and QA process to observe performance over time and assess appropriateness of the items selected. This system does not capture activities conducted to support departmental and organizational infrastructure. Therefore, is not appropriate for calculating standard costs or for valuing all contributions attributable to OR groups. In addition to concisely communicating OR activites to upper-management, metrics help team members focus on value-added activities and project prioritization.