He believes clinicians should seek out and use such evidence each and every day as they work with their patients to make health care decisions. Health care technologies will not reach their full potential to improve patient care unless they are translated, used, and continuously evaluated, notes Dr. Eisenberg. Most people would agree that health care technology has advanced physicians' ability to improve their patients' health and quality of life, yet there continues to be disagreement about which technologies they should use, how much technology is too much, and whether the technologies clinicians use are cost effective. These questions are particularly relevant today, in a health care system that is dominated by intense competition between clinicians and organizations competing for a greater share of the market, whether for hospital beds, ambulatory services, drugs, or devices. Dr. Eisenberg says the proliferation of new and sometimes expensive health care technologies in a period of constrained health care spending is spurring demand for more of the information needed to make decisions that affect both patients' lives and the bottom line of health care costs.
Technology is more than devices.
Research and assessments should be linked with coverage. Technology assessment is not a one-time exercise. New measures of outcomes should be developed. The community of practice is a laboratory for technology assessment. Training and capacity-building in technology assessment should be emphasized.