The development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis of women presenting with symptoms which may be breast cancer will have resource implications for the health care system. Every clinical decision has resource implications.
Every decision regarding a particular diagnostic procedure incurs an opportunity cost.
That is, the benefits forgone in using scarce health resources in an alternative way. Clinical practice guidelines might be expected to reduce variations in patient management among general practitioners where such variations are caused by lack of knowledge or information amongst clinicians. They may also influence referral patterns and change the quantity and type of diagnostic procedures performed. These effects will occur in both public and private health care settings. The House of Representatives Report on the management and treatment of breast cancer in Australia identified a number of problems with the process of diagnosing women who present with breast lumps and other symptoms which may be breast cancer.