OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop a probabilistic decision support model to calculate the lifetime incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) between radical prostatectomy and watchful waiting for different patient groups. MATERIAL AND METHODS A randomized trial (SPCG-4) provided most data for this study. Data on survival, costs and quality of life were inputs in a decision analysis, and...

BACKGROUND Responding to research confirming the link between nurse staffing and patient outcomes, 14 states have introduced legislation to limit patient-to-nurse ratios. However, increased staffing places a considerable financial burden on hospitals. OBJECTIVE We sought to determine the cost-effectiveness of various nurse staffing ratios. RESEARCH DESIGN This was a cost-effectiveness analy...

BACKGROUND Behavioural problems are common among adolescents. The burden on society in social disturbance, health, failures to contribute and costs has triggered innovative community-based interventions such as multisystemic therapy (MST). AIMS Our aim was to compare the cost-effectiveness of MST and treatment as usual (TAU). METHODS Cost-effectiveness was assessed alongside a randomised cl...

BACKGROUND Clinicians, hospital managers, policy makers, and researchers are concerned about high costs, increased demand, and variation in priorities in the intensive care unit (ICU). The objectives of this modelling study are to describe the extra costs and expected health gains associated with admission to the ICU versus the general ward for 30,712 patients and the variation in cost-effectiv...

BACKGROUND Controversy exists concerning the best treatment for asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) when the National Institutes of Health consensus conference criteria for parathyroidectomy are not met. We hypothesized that parathyroidectomy would be more cost-effective than observation or pharmacologic therapy for these patients. METHODS Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed...

Standard cost-effectiveness calculations as used by the UK National Institute of Clinical Excellence compare the net benefit of an intervention with the financial costs to the health service. Debates about public health interventions also focus on these factors. The subjective experience of the patient, including financial costs and also transient pain, distress, and indignity, is routinely ign...