Cost-effectiveness of stress-echocardiography.
Because of constraints on the costs of providing medical care, cardiologists in the future will find themselves challenged to provide care for their patients in the most cost-effective manner possible. Although stress-echocardiography has been shown to compare favorably with other tests in diagnostic accuracy, data on cost-effectiveness are scarce. In this article, general concepts of cost-effectiveness as they relate to stress-echocardiography are reviewed and the available literature is summarized. Although definitive data are lacking, there is evidence to suggest that stress-echocardiography may prove to be cost-effective in several clinical situations.
Marine
J E
JE
Section of Cardiology, Boston University School of Medicine, MA, USA.
Freedberg
K A
KA
Davidoff
R
R
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000191:economics; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000191:economics; D009204:Myocardial Revascularization; D014481:United States