Procedures for the evaluation of patient education programs have been slow to evolve; the majority of programs, in fact, remain unevaluated. Patient education efforts, particularly with cancer patients, are effective in enhancing recovery, alleviating anxiety, and facilitating compliance. Patient education should minimize patient dependence on others in the recovery process. Its design must insure cost-effectiveness. A conceptual model has been designed for the evaluation of patient education; quasi-experimental design appears to be practical. Educational programs have multiple objectives with immediate and intermediate objectives being most crucial because of time and cost constraints and available techniques. Success is dependent on the criteria employed for evaluation. Patient education best lends itself to these criteria: effort, performance, adequacy, efficiency, and process. A systems design evaluation model helps clarify cause-effect associations and provides accountability with examples of input, intervening, and output variables. (Author/GDC)