J. Mcdonnell et al., The appropriateness of treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: a comparison of Dutch and multinational criteria, HEALTH POLI, 57(1), 2001, pp. 45-56
Citations number
15
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science","Health Care Sciences & Services
Over the last decade, a number of organisations have developed clinical gui
delines, typically at a national level, in order to increase appropriate he
alth care. This raises the question as to whether it is possible to develop
guidelines, applicable on the national level, at an international level. I
n order to examine this, we compared the appropriateness criteria for the t
reatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia ratings developed by two panels, o
ne a single-nationality (Dutch) panel. the other a multinational (European)
panel. The panels, both consisting of experienced urologists, used a modif
ied Delphi process to rate 1152 indications for the most common treatments
(surgery, alpha -blocker, finasteride and watchful waiting) on a nine-point
scale. This article describes the similarities and differences between the
ratings produced by the panels. The appropriateness ratings were identical
for 84% of the indications (kappa = 0.76). The difference in the scores fo
r individual indications was zero in 41% of indications and less than or eq
ual to two in 99% of indications. This study provides strong evidence that
a multinational panel can deliver essentially the same appropriateness rati
ngs for BPH as a national panel. Developing appropriateness criteria on an
international level may result in significant savings and may help contribu
te to the reduction of undesirable practice variation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc
ience Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.