Resources Repository
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ArticlePublication 2020Testing for SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Recently, the UK government has made …
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. Recently, the UK government has made antibody testing available to anyone wanting it, even if there is no clinical indication. The purpose of this article is to provide guidance for when to consider antibody testing in individuals with and without symptoms suggestive of current or past SARS-CoV-2 infection. Key points made by the authors include: (1) antibody testing is likely to be most useful 2 weeks…
Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine -
ToolInteractive 2020COVID-19 Antibody Tests: Calculator for Interpreting Test Results
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. This interactive calculator, linked to the article …
Antibody testing can determine previous exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. This interactive calculator, linked to the article below* on antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 virus, allows users to vary the prior probability of infection, the sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, and the specificity of SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. Key points made in the article accompanying the interactive include: (1) antibody testing is likely to be most useful 2 weeks after infection, (2) sensitivity and specificity will vary over time and…
Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology -
EditorialPublication 2020Waiting for Certainty on COVID-19 Antibody Tests — At What Cost?
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation …
This perspective anticipates the availability of serologic antibody testing and considers its potential usefulness in mitigation policy to reduce COVID-19 transmission. For example: Could we screen for serologic antibodies as a proxy for possible immunity and identify people who could return to the workplace with less severe mitigation measures? The authors acknowledge the uncertainties raised by many policy actors, including the WHO, such as, "Do antibodies confer immunity and, if so, for how long? How accurate is…
Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Global | North America -
OrganizationWeb Portal 2024Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER)
ICER is a non-profit organization that evaluates evidence on a range of topics including the value …
ICER is a non-profit organization that evaluates evidence on a range of topics including the value of medical tests, treatments and delivery system innovations and moves that evidence into action to improve the health care system. To accomplish this goal ICER performs analyses on effectiveness and costs, supports specific programs, and develops reports using innovative methods that make it easier to translate evidence into decisions that can align efforts to use evidence to drive improvements in both…
Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Value of Information | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Evidence Synthesis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Chronic Disease/Risk | Mental Health | Health Systems | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | North America | Europe -
OrganizationWeb Portal 2024ISPOR
Founded in 1995 as an international multidisciplinary professional membership society, the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics …
Founded in 1995 as an international multidisciplinary professional membership society, the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) exists to advance the policy, science, and practice of pharmacoeconomics (health economics) and health outcomes research. ISPOR publishes Value in Health, the Official Journal Of The International Society For Pharmacoeconomics And Outcomes Research, which contains original research articles in the areas of economic evaluation, outcomes research, and conceptual, methodological, and health policy articles. Beyond health economics and…
Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Value of Information | Preferences/Values | Priority Setting/Ethics | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Operations Research | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Health Systems | Policy/Regulation | Business/Industry | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global -
BookPublication 1980Clinical Decision Analysis
This text was conceived and developed in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health …
This text was conceived and developed in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at the Center for the Analysis of Health Practices. The book had its origins in a set of classroom materials developed during the academic year 1974-75 for an elective course in medical decision making at the Harvard Medical School. In this book students are shown how to structure clinical decision problems, how to systematically formulate the intertwining roles of diagnosis and treatment, how to…
Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Value of Information | Preferences/Values | Costing Methods | Health Outcomes | Test Performance | State-Transition | Decision Analysis | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Economics/Finance | Health/Medicine | Global | North America | Europe | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Decision Making/Leadership | Quantitative Literacy -
ArticlePublication 2008Cost-Effectiveness of Rapid Point-of-Care Prenatal Syphilis Screening in Sub-Saharan Africa
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among …
This paper investigates the cost-effectiveness of using rapid point-of-care tests for prenatal syphilis screening among pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, a region with syphilis prevalence rates as high as 17%, and where traditional multi-test screening methods have been challenging to implement. Focusing on newly available rapid point-of-care screening tests, strategies differed by the initial test [rapid plasma reagin (RPR), immunochromographic strip (ICS)], need for confirmation with Treponema pallidum hemagglutination assay, and number of visits required.…
Technology Assessment | Infectious Diseases | Costing Methods | Test Performance | Mathematical Models | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis | Maternal/Reproductive Health | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine | Sub-Saharan Africa -
ArticlePublication 2022Emerging Therapies for COVID-19: The Value of Information From More Clinical Trials
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face …
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated time-sensitive policy and implementation decisions regarding new therapies in the face of uncertainty. This study aimed to quantify consequences of approving therapies or pursuing further research. The authors used a cohort state-transition model for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 to estimate quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and costs associated with multiple drug regimens and usual care. For each they assessed immediate approval, use only in research, emergency use authorization or reject. They conducted cost-effectiveness…
Infectious Diseases | Value of Information | State-Transition | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Economics/Finance | North America | Europe -
ArticlePublication 2020Bayes' Theorem, COVID-19, and Screening Tests
This article reviews the implications of increased testing for COVID-19 using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain …
This article reviews the implications of increased testing for COVID-19 using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) through the application of Bayes’ Theorem for three hypothetical, stylized case scenarios. The scenarios involve three patients with a low, moderate, and high pre-test probability of COVID-19 infection. The category of low probability would include "asymptomatic individuals in a presumed low prevalence environment" and might vary from 10 to 20%. The category of moderate probability would include "individuals…
Infectious Diseases | Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Clinical Care | Health/Medicine