Universities, especially those with medical schools whose academics engage in clinical research, have a vital role in shaping the way in which medical technology is used. Academic clinicians are a bridge between laboratory research, where new technologies are developed, and clinical practice, where these technologies are applied in treating patients. Academic clinicians are particularly suited to doing clinical assessment of medical technologies, and academic clinical departments should devote more time to the assessment and application of technology on a broad scale.

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the social, cultural and economic factors which have led to the present pattern of technology utilization in Japan. It is divided into five sections. The first provides the historical framework; the second, an overview of the health care delivery context and its economic incentive structure; the third, an analysis of the various contenders involved in the process of resource allocation; the fourth, a description of the technology areas which have been emphasized in Japan; and the fifth, an examination of future issues.

The author describes how France has attempted to reconcile its ethos of optimum health care for all with a belief in free enterprise, with increasing medical costs and complex technological innovations, and with a traditional distrust of widespread regulation. Effective oversight of the diffusion of technology is further hampered by the shared responsibilities of several government agencies. Although France has enacted a fee schedule for physicians, created national procedures for evaluating equipment, and exercised some control over hospitals, the general sentiment is anti-bureaucratic and third-party insurers will most likely play an important role in limiting the diffusion of technology in the future.

The importance of health technology assessment for developing countries is unquestionable. Although these countries are still plagues by tropical diseases and primary health problems, they have been forced to import modern medical technologies because of internal and international pressures. Recognition of the potentoial of health technology assessment for improving the management of technology and health care delivery in developing countries leads to the critical question of how to promote the development of assessment activities there. But as technology assessment is itself also a technology, it can be assuned that its direct transfer to developing countries in the form that it has unfolded in the richer nations is doomed to failure. How successful transfer of health technology assessment can be achieved is outlined.

This paper discusses several practical problems in research design: Is it worth doing a relatively “quick and dirty” study or is a more thorough study using all available infotmation necessary? All the desired information may either not be available or be time-consuming to collect. What are the likely biases in going ahead and doing the research with the data base “in hand”? Such issues are important because of the limited resources for technology assessment (in terms of money, number of researchers, and research interest) and the great number of unstudies technologies.

Abstract Professional journals are of great importance in the transfer of information about technology, providing most physicians and medical students with the majority of their new information. Professional journals have mission statements and goals and many editorial categories to help achieve their goals. In addition, news media, books, television, and computerized journals are important methods for changing physician knowledge. Physician behavior is changed by many factors of which poor patient outcome is probably the key. Quality of information and activities is best assured by clear definition, goals, proper peer review, and good management. Appropriate use of technology is best approached by separating wants from needs.

This article contends that the German social and economic situation is conducive to the rapid diffusion of innovative medical technology. While there is public control over hospital facilities, the pluralistic health care system and decentralized government responsibilities contribute to an essentially laissez faire regulatory environment. There is perfunctory planning and regulation for major medical expenditures, but the essential constraints are financial. This is no comprehensive program for the assessment of diagnostic technologies and the effective imposition of guidelines depends on the cooperative effort of various financing organizations, professional interests, and public pressure groups.

This article presents a survey of the public and private agencies and institutions providing health care in Israel and examines the degree and nature of the control that these bodies exercise over medical technology. The author demonstrates that while the Israeli government is highly centralized, the Ministry of Health is able to exercise only limited practical influence and is neutralized because of its circumscribed control of government funds. In addition, the Ministry of Health lacks standardized procedures for the assessment of prospective or existing technologies. The author notes that there has been a clear move toward a system to oversee the rational diffusion of technology and outlines several proposals for the future.

The author examines the Australian health care system by surveying the financing techniques, physical organization, and government activity. He explains the impact of the public and private sectors and comments on the effectiveness of current evaluation procedures. While the author believes that the system is relatively healthy and cost effective, he recognizes a need for more comprehensive and scientific oversight. Using regression analysis and focusing on the installation of medical technology in hospitals, the author attempts to determine the specific factors that influence technology diffusion. He concludes by stressing that further studies analyzing the actual use of specific technologies are vital.

Deapite the importance of understanding factors related to physician adoption and use of diagnostiv technologies, relatively few studies have been published. Results of a two-year study of the adoption of magnetiv resonance imaging (MRI) and its substitution for computed tomography scanning (CT) are presented. The literature on physician adoption and use of technologu is used to provide a frame-work for this study. Differences in adoption and substitution among medical specialties, early versus late adopters, and high versus low users of MRI are examined. Results show that neuerologists and internists more rapidly adopt MRI and substitute it for CT than do orthopedists and other surgical specialists. Referral of higher number of patients is the best predictor of more rapid substitution. Physicians who were late adopters more quickly substituted MRI for CT. The cost and social implications of empirical versus “ideal” substitution rates are discussed along with various regulatory, technology assessment, and finicial strategies influence substitution. The role of individual physicians, radiologists, and specialty societies in determining substitution rates is also discussed.

This paper reviews the evolution of U.S. policy toward medical technology in areas such as cost containment, regulation of devices and drugs, and third party reimbursement. In addition the authors chronicle the diffusion of major medical technologies, procedures, and organizational innovations in the United States. Finally, the article provides tentative observations on the effect of recent policy changes and concludes with some recommendations for the future.

Abstract Despite the quantity of material on medical issues which journalists typically receive, and the tremendous public interest in health news, journalists are only rarely able to provide medical information of any real value to the public. Good news, no matter how tentative, always gets more attention than critical assessment. Deadlines pressure journalists to look only at the surface of the issues that they describe, and few have the expertise necessary to judge the importance of their stories. When accurate, authoritative information is available in a structured format; however, the news media can publicize medical findings rapidly, effecting significant changes in public behavior.

Using combined data from an independent survey by the American Hospital Association and the State of New York, the diffusion of two diagnostic technologies–the automated chemistry analyzer and the computed tomography (CT) scanner–among hospitals in New York State was analyzed. A linearized form of the logistic function was estimated using cumulative diffusion data for each. Diffusion patterns of both technologies fit the logistic curve well, with the coefficient of diffusion for the CT scanner being greater than that for the automated analyzer. Further analysis examined characteristics of early adopters of each technology. Similar hospital characteristics (e.g., high volume of admissions and medical school affiliation) were important in explaining early adoption of both technologies.

The author contends that the diffusion and use of modern medical technologies has had a profound impact on the hospital environment, the doctor-patient relationship, and the humanity of the patient. On these grounds the author argues for a rigorous, comprehensive, and ongoing assessment of diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. He stresses the importance of developing standards by which to judge the human and economic impact of particular technologies. These studies would decrease the inappropriate use of medical technology and would provide guidelines to improve current use.

The assessment of medical technologies has to answer several questions ranging from safety and effectiveness to complex economical, social, and health policy issues. The type of data needed to carry out such evaluation depends on the specific questions to be answered, as well as on the stage of development of a technology.

Basically two types of data may be distinguished: (a) general demographic, administrative, or financial data which has been collected not specifically for technology assessment; (b) the data collected with respect either to a specific technology or to a disease or medical problem.

On the basis of a pilot inquiry in Europe and bibliographic research, the following categories of type (b) data bases have been identified: registries, clinical data bases, banks of factual and bibliographic knowledge, and expert systems. Examples of each category are discussed briefly. The following aims for further research and practical goals are proposed: criteria for the minimal data set required, improvement to the registries and clinical data banks, and development of an international clearinghouse to enhance information diffusion on both existing data bases and available reports on medical technology assessments.

This paper describes a content analysis of the statements of 24 Consensus Development Conferences conducted by the Office of Medical Applications of Research (OMAR) of the National Institutes of Health in the years 1979–1983. The goal was to understand the potential influence of the consensus statements by identifying characteristics that might determine whether and how physicians become aware of their findings and adopt their recommendations. Three characteristics emerged, each suggestive of a different style of consensus statement: discursiveness, didacticism, and scholarliness. Variations in style among consensus statements may affect their acceptance by the medical profession

We analyze Argentina's demographic and socioeconomic data as the context for understanding its health sector. Health expenditures and the number of physicians are high in Argentina. Health coverage is extensive, but covers only about 50% of the per capita expenditures. The high expenditures in health do not correlate with improvements of indicators such as infant and general mortality. Evaluations of the way health care is provided are insufficient. Argentina's “medical-intensive” model of health is responsible for the expansion of the “small-ticket technology”, which accounts for a significant proportion of the increase in health expenditures. With this picture, we believe that health decision-makers could benefit from cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA), because this technique stresses the relationship between expenditures and appropriately defined goals. As a demonstration project, we look at the way that technology is used in Argentina using CEA to assess anesthesia procedures. The results of our study show that increasing the use of N2O would save us $670,000 per year, and 10,300 years of life to surgical patients of all ages.

The different models of consensus development conferences (CDC5) are analyzed in relation to democratic technology assessment. In some countries CDCs are mainly concerned with influencing the quality of clinical practice and thus are dominated by medical experts. In other countries, CDCs are directed towards the public and the decision makers on the political and administrative level. The Danish experience demonstrates that CDCs may be a forceful social technology with a strong potential to influence decisions about medical as well as non-medical technology

This study compares the cost-effectiveness of mitral valve reconstruction and replacement. Published clinical data were used to determine the effectiveness of each procedure. Both direct and indirect costs were calculated. The findings indicate that reconstruction has lower costs per year of life extended than replacement due to better outcomes. Changing outcome probabilities and discount rates did not alter these results. Cost savings in excess of 40% may be achieved by early reconstruction for suitable patients. These results suggest that the prevailing practice of delaying surgery until replacement is needed should be reconsidered, especially for patients who could benefit from reconstruction.

Seven consensus development conferences have been held in Sweden since 1982. The conferences, sponsored by the Swedish Medical Research Council and Spri, typically examine social, organizational, and economic aspects of technology, and therefore, generate consensus statements of interest not only to physicians but also to politicians and health administrators.

The study presented here examines the influence of the first five consensus development conferences on politicians and health administrators. Data was obtained via a mail questionnaire and personal interviews with leading individuals in these groups. More than half of the respondents indicated that they had found the statements from one or more conferences to be of practical value as a basis for discussing specific technologies with medical staffs. In some cases the statements directly influenced political decisions.