Brown DW, French MT, Schweitzer ME, McGeary KA, McCoy CB, Ullmann SG. Economic evaluation of breast cancer screening: A review.
CANCER PRACTICE 1999;
7:28-33. [PMID:
9893001 DOI:
10.1046/j.1523-5394.1999.07103.x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE
The authors provide a review of the economic evaluation literature of breast cancer screening and identify important trends and gaps in the literature.
OVERVIEW
Healthcare resources are limited and economic evaluation plays a critical role in resource allocation, healthcare policy, and clinical decisions. Many economic evaluations of medical practice, however, are unreliable and do not use appropriate analytic techniques. Three important trends were observed. First, two economic evaluation methods are dominant. Second, a wide range of cost estimates exists across studies. Third, a lack of standardization exists across studies with regard to basic economic evaluation principles. These findings should be considered when conducting future research, analyzing economic evaluations of breast cancer screening, and developing clinical guidelines.
CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
Concerns about cost containment in healthcare make it necessary for physicians and clinical administrators to take an active role in resource allocation decisions at the clinical level. For instance, the recent debate on the proper age to begin annual mammography screening involves both resource allocation and clinical issues. Thus, it is important for physicians and clinical administrators to be familiar with the economic evaluation literature of breast cancer screening, economic evaluation methodology, and the associated shortcomings of published estimates.
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