‘疗效’ is a compound noun meaning 'therapeutic effect' or 'efficacy'—specifically, the measurable or observable result of a medical treatment on a patient’s condition. The first character 疗 (liáo) means 'to treat (an illness)' and carries connotations of healing or therapy; the second character 效 (xiào) means 'effect', 'result', or 'outcome'. Together, they emphasize the *practical outcome* of treatment—not just whether a drug was administered, but whether it actually improved symptoms, halted disease progression, or led to recovery.

This word is commonly used in clinical, pharmaceutical, and public health contexts—such as evaluating new drugs, comparing traditional versus modern treatments, or discussing patient responses. It often appears with modifiers like 显著 (pronounced xiǎnzhù, meaning 'significant'), 良好 (liánghǎo, 'good'), or 不佳 (bùjiā, 'poor') to describe the degree of effectiveness. Unlike more general terms like 效果 (xiàoguǒ, 'effect' or 'result'), 疗效 is strictly medical and implies a health-related intervention.