Use of Economic Evaluations in Decision Making

The stream of new tests in laboratory medicine requires frequent decisions about whether or not to implement them. Economic evaluations can help in making these decisions. The finite resources for healthcare require use of an objective means of determining how resources are allocated and how the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery can be improved. 

Regardless of any problems in introducing them, economic evaluations can provide the objective measure of what can be achieved, and the standard against which the change in practice can be audited after implementation. 

The patient-centered goals of evidenced-based laboratory medicine cannot be reached by primary studies and systematic reviews alone. The results of these investigations must be turned into action. Increasingly, health systems and 

---