Lynne: What are your go-to resources for diagnostic information?
When resources for diagnostic examination are limited prioritisation may be necessary.
In 1988, Holli and Hakama questioned the cost-effectiveness of the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and suggested that resources for diagnostic investigations and treatment of this group could better be used to improve quality of life and to conserve resources [ 21].
Beside blood also urine, which contains exfoliated PCa cells and PCa-secreted products, is a promising resource for diagnostic markers.
While access to specialized vascular surgery may be limited, ultrasound diagnosis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) as a cause for abdominal pain may allow for rapid identification of surgical candidates and save resources for further diagnostic workup once a diagnosis has been reached.
Real world data from such settings is therefore important in prioritising the use of scarce resources for planning diagnostic, therapeutic and monitoring options.
Quantifying the future burden of cancer incidence and mortality, in terms of expected numbers of cases and deaths, or rates of disease, is important in optimising the allocation of resources for screening, diagnostic, therapeutic and palliative services and to provide a baseline from which the success of future interventions can be judged (Bray and Møller, 2006).
The higher resource utilization for diagnostic and therapeutic services in the HAART group likely reflects the greater complexity of diagnosis in these patients.
Barriers to communication have been shown to lead to adverse effects on: quality of care, user satisfaction, health outcomes, resource utilization for diagnostic testing, unnecessary invasive procedures, barriers to continuity of care, use of preventive services, and mortality [ 20, 21].
