The area under the ROC curve (AUC-ROC) in this setting can be interpreted as the probability of correctly identifying the improved patients from non-improved patients.
Technology has given doctors many more tools, and has materially improved patients' lives.
Genentech's study found that Avastin improved patients' quality of life, which could be important to retaining that approval.
The real ones improved patients' lung function by 20%, compared with 7% for the alternatives: a dummy inhaler or acupuncture.
A Pebble Project study at St . Alphonsus Regional Medical Centerin Boise, Idaho, for instance, found that reducing noise levels improved patients' self-reported sleep quality by almost half — to 7.3 on a scale of 10, up from 4.9.
In a proposed decision posted on its Web site Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that there was not enough evidence that use of the tests improved patients' health.
The lead author, Linda H. Aiken, a registered nurse, acknowledged that the analysis did not prove that the California rules improved patients' outcomes.
Clinical trials of more than 10,000 patients showed that Invokana improved patients' blood-sugar levels and also led to weight loss and reductions in blood pressure.
His group had been in discussions with health insurers and equipment makers to consider conducting the studies that the agency originally envisioned, as a way to show whether the technology was, in fact, better than existing tests and improved patients' health.
