Does cost-effectiveness analysis make a difference? Lessons from pap smears - Preface

From the Department of Family Practice, University of Kentucky College of M edicine, Lexington (MDH); the Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research , Stanford University, California, and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healt h Care System, Palo Alto, California (AMG); the Harvard Center for Risk Ana lysis, Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (SJG); the Center for Health Services Resear ch, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan (JEL); the Department of Me dicine and Lombardi Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center, Wa shington, D.C. (JM); the Departments of Medicine and Economics, University of Chicago, Illinois (DM); the Program on the Economic Evaluation of Medica l Technology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (PN); the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health a nd Human Services, Rockville, Maryland (JES); the Department of Medicine, D artmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, New Hampshire (HCS); the Depart ment of Internal Medicine and the Institute for Health Policy and Health Se rvices Research, University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Ohio (JT) This pr oject was supported by Grant No. R13 HS10931 from. the Agency for Healthcar e Research and Quality. The symposium was presented at the annual meeting o f the Society for Medical Decision Making, 26 September 2000, Cincinnati, O hio.