The cost-effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging for investigation of the knee joint

Abstract

et al.The costeffectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging for investigation of the knee joint. Health Technol Assess 2001;5(27). Health Technology Assessment is indexed in Index Medicus/MEDLINE and Excerpta Medica/ EMBASE. Copies of the Executive Summaries are available from the NCCHTA website (see opposite). NHS R&D HTA Programme T he NHS R&D Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme was set up in 1993 to ensure that high-quality research information on the costs, effectiveness and broader impact of health technologies is produced in the most efficient way for those who use, manage and provide care in the NHS. Initially, six HTA panels (pharmaceuticals, acute sector, primary and community care, diagnostics and imaging, population screening, methodology) helped to set the research priorities for the HTA Programme. However, during the past few years there have been a number of changes in and around NHS R&D, such as the establishment of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the creation of three new research programmes: Service Delivery and Organisation (SDO); New and Emerging Applications of Technology (NEAT); and the Methodology Programme. This has meant that the HTA panels can now focus more explicitly on health technologies ('health technologies' are broadly defined to include all interventions used to promote health, prevent and treat disease, and improve rehabilitation and long-term care) rather than settings of care. Therefore the panel structure has been redefined and replaced by three new panels: Pharmaceuticals; Therapeutic Procedures (including devices and operations); and Diagnostic Technologies and Screening. The HTA Programme will continue to commission both primary and secondary research. The HTA Commissioning Board, supported by the National Coordinating Centre for Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA), will consider and advise the Programme Director on the best research projects to pursue in order to address the research priorities identified by the three HTA panels. The research reported in this monograph was funded as project number 93/26/16. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the HTA Programme or the Department of Health. The editors wish to emphasise that funding and publication of this research by the NHS should not be taken as implicit support for any recommendations made by the authors. Criteria for inclusion in the HTA monograph series Reports are published in the HTA monograph series if (1) they have resulted from work commissioned for the HTA Programme, and (2) they are of a sufficiently high scientific quality as assessed by the referees and editors. Reviews in Health Technology Assessment are termed 'systematic' when the account of the search, appraisal and synthesis methods (to minimise biases and random errors) would, in theory, permit the replication of the review by others.

Effect of routine diagnostic imaging for patients with musculoskeletal disorders: A meta-analysis

“…After screening on title and abstract, 32 references remained. Then, screening the full-text article excluded 17 references, leaving 15 references for inclusion [11,[14][15][16][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Three RCTs were published twice [15,28,[35][36][37][38] and one trial had three different publications [11,33,34].…”

“…Several trials have focused on patients with other musculoskeletal disorders, of which two found significant results for the effect of imaging [14][15][16]. Clinicians generally assume that reassurance must follow from a confident statement that no disease has been found.…”

Effectiveness of autologous chondrocyte transplantation for hyaline cartilage defects in knees: a rapid and systematic review

“…Any substantial economic impacts on society or on individuals are described in the text. Unit cost estimates were obtained from published literature, data from the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham, a recent survey of 11 NHS Trusts, 82 unpublished Swedish data, 77 as well as manufacturer and national sources (see appendix 5 footnotes). Mean costs were calculated when data were available for comparable procedures.…”

“…The prevalence or incidence of hyaline cartilage damage in knee joints is not known, partly because 2001; Vol. 5: No.…”

“…the suggested poor outcomes in patients with patellar defects), with patients followed for as long as possible • address the deficiencies in evaluating the clinical outcomes of knee injury and incorporate measures of general health status • consider study designs, other than randomised trials, that might be used to assess complex interventions such as those required in complex knee injuries. 2001; Vol. 5: No.…”