Defining quality health care with outcomes assessment while achieving economic value.
The effectiveness of a procedure is increasingly guided by the evaluation of patient outcomes. Outcomes data is used to develop clinical pathways of care and to define appropriate resource-use levels without sacrificing quality of care. Integration of the economic implications of medical services into an outcome-based guideline allows for the development of disease-management strategies. In cardiovascular medicine, risk reduction is associated with high cost due to the "pay-back" of new technologies and therapies. A major challenge is to define a balance between "high tech" care and cost. This paper devises an outpatient evidence-based guideline using clinical and economic outcomes data for the diagnosis of coronary disease.
Shaw
L J
LJ
Emory University School of Medicine, Outcomes Research, Emory Heart Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Miller
D D
DD
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D019091:Critical Pathways; D019468:Disease Management; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007449:Investments; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States