Economic decision analysis in the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain. A methodologic primer.
This article outlines basic principles for the economic analysis of clinical decisions. Using a hypothetical scenario involving a patient with low back pain, the specific application of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is illustrated; and the two methodologies are compared. Cost-benefit analysis is advanced in the "gold standard" among the two approaches because it forces decision makers to explicitly value both the cost and health consequences of alternative clinical actions.
Conrad
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Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle.
Deyo
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D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy