Estimating the cost effectiveness of screening tests

D J Torgerson; D M Reid

Estimating the cost effectiveness of screening tests

Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review

Abstract

A number of criteria have been postulated that a screening test should fulfill in order for it to be a good or worthwhile screening tool. However, it is a rare test which fulfills all the criteria that have been thought to be important. Therefore, there always exists some form of trade-off between, for example, the detection rate and the false-positive rate and cost. It is the magnitude and form of these trade-offs, which differ for each screening test, that are important, not whether a test fulfills some arbitrary set of criteria. In this paper, we describe some of the trade-offs which occur when appraising a screening test and we argue that listing arbitrary criteria is an unhelpful activity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	649-652
Number of pages	4
Journal	QJM Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians
Volume	90
Issue number	10
Publication status	Published - Oct 1997

Cite this

@article{d87922a60fb1478f86917249b6e65907,

title = "Estimating the cost effectiveness of screening tests",

abstract = "A number of criteria have been postulated that a screening test should fulfill in order for it to be a good or worthwhile screening tool. However, it is a rare test which fulfills all the criteria that have been thought to be important. Therefore, there always exists some form of trade-off between, for example, the detection rate and the false-positive rate and cost. It is the magnitude and form of these trade-offs, which differ for each screening test, that are important, not whether a test fulfills some arbitrary set of criteria. In this paper, we describe some of the trade-offs which occur when appraising a screening test and we argue that listing arbitrary criteria is an unhelpful activity.",

author = "Torgerson, {D J} and Reid, {D M}",

year = "1997",

month = oct,

language = "English",

volume = "90",

pages = "649--652",

journal = "QJM Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians",

issn = "1460-2725",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

number = "10",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Estimating the cost effectiveness of screening tests

AU - Torgerson, D J

AU - Reid, D M

PY - 1997/10

Y1 - 1997/10

N2 - A number of criteria have been postulated that a screening test should fulfill in order for it to be a good or worthwhile screening tool. However, it is a rare test which fulfills all the criteria that have been thought to be important. Therefore, there always exists some form of trade-off between, for example, the detection rate and the false-positive rate and cost. It is the magnitude and form of these trade-offs, which differ for each screening test, that are important, not whether a test fulfills some arbitrary set of criteria. In this paper, we describe some of the trade-offs which occur when appraising a screening test and we argue that listing arbitrary criteria is an unhelpful activity.

AB - A number of criteria have been postulated that a screening test should fulfill in order for it to be a good or worthwhile screening tool. However, it is a rare test which fulfills all the criteria that have been thought to be important. Therefore, there always exists some form of trade-off between, for example, the detection rate and the false-positive rate and cost. It is the magnitude and form of these trade-offs, which differ for each screening test, that are important, not whether a test fulfills some arbitrary set of criteria. In this paper, we describe some of the trade-offs which occur when appraising a screening test and we argue that listing arbitrary criteria is an unhelpful activity.

M3 - Editorial

SN - 1460-2725

VL - 90

SP - 649

EP - 652

JO - QJM Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians

JF - QJM Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians

IS - 10

ER -