E-DRUG: How to read a paper
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Dear E-druggers,
Summary points from the eight article in the above series in the
British Medical Journal appears below. Please visit the BMJ
homepage (http://www.bmj.com) for details. Thanks.
Syed Rizwanuddin Ahmad
Email: srahmad@essential.org
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BMJ No 7108 Volume 315
Education and debate Saturday 6 September 1997
How to read a paper
Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses)
Trisha Greenhalgh
This is the eighth in a series of 10 articles introducing non-experts
to finding medical articles and assessing their value
Summary points
An economic analysis should be based on a primary study or
meta-analysis that is scientifically valid, reliable, and relevant
When deciding whether an economic analysis has been done correctly,
you should not simply check the arithmetic but consider whether all
direct, indirect, and intangible costs and benefits have been
included
In the allocation of limited resources, the comparison of different
health states is unavoidable, but instruments for measuring health
related quality of life are not as objective as they seem
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