Costs and effectiveness of prostate cancer screening in elderly men
Office of Technology Assessment
Record ID 31996008329
English
Authors' objectives:
To examine the effectiveness, safety, and costs of screening for prostate cancer among asymptomatic men over 65 years in order to analyze the implications of a potential screening benefit under the U. S. Medicare program.
Authors' results and conclusions:
Research has not yet been completed to determine whether systematic screening for prostate cancer extends lives. Because scientific knowledge is limited, but the consequences of prostate cancer and its treatment are serious, an informed and reasonable patient could equally well decide to have screening or forgo it.
Authors' recommendations:
Given the state of current knowledge about prostate cancer, it may be reasonable for Medicare to consider reimbursement of the screening test. Reimbursement could be seen as ensuring that out-of-pocket screening expenses (however small) not impede well-informed discussion and decision-making between physician and patient.
Authors' methods:
Review
Details
Project Status:
Completed
URL for project:
http://www.wws.princeton.edu:80/~ota/ns20/pubs_f.html
Year Published:
1995
English language abstract:
An English language summary is available
Publication Type:
Not Assigned
Country:
United States
MeSH Terms
- Aged
- Mass Screening
- Medicare
- Prostatectomy
- Prostatic Hyperplasia
- Prostatic Neoplasms
- Radiation
Contact
Organisation Name:
U. S. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment
Copyright:
Office of Technology Assessment
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.