| Cost Studies Seperate Value
from Price |
|
| A pair of Stanford studies published in the May
18 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine showed that a treatment can be a good
value even when it's more expensive. Combining data from 11 studies that compared the effectiveness of two preparations, the researchers concluded that low-molecular-weight heparin works as well as the more widely used and less expensive unfractionated heparin. The costlier treatment was preferable because it slightly increased life expectancy and reduced the likelihood of early complications, the researchers found. Michael K. Gould, assistant professor of medicine (pulmonary and critical care), and colleagues performed a two-part analysis comparing the two forms of heparin. Gould's collaborators in the two-tier analysis were Alan M. Garber, professor of medicine and of health research and policy; Ramona L. Doyle, assistant professor of medicine; Anne D. Dembitzer, a staff physician in general internal medicine at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System; Trevor Hastie, assocaite professor of statistics; and Gillian Sanders, assistant professor at the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research. |
COLUMNS Chief of Staff President of the Medical Staff Fact File: Social Services NEWS Lee's Patients Soar Five Miles High On-Line Chart Training Offered for Physicians Cost Studies Seperate Value from Price County Medical Association Honors Stanford Physicians |