Changing roles of decision analysis and cost-effectiveness analyses in medicine and radiology.

The tools of decision analysis (including cost –effectiveness analysis) and technology assessment have become commonplace in numerous areas related to medicine. The resulting growth in the application of these fields has been large over the past three decades, but particularly so since the mid 1970s. This article briefly reviews the evoluation of these fields. More importantly, however, it provides several key references in each of these areas to allow the reader to pursue these topics in more detail. Because this article is not intended to be a comprehensive view of the field, the reader will find back and current issues of “Medical Decision Making” informative; they will provide an excellent place for a complete view of work in this field. (June 2000)