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Problems in the Use of Large Data Sets to Assess Effectiveness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Robert Temple
Affiliation:
U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Abstract

Large data sets are an attractive source of information for outcome assessment, but their use involves certain problems and risks. Data base evaluations are retrospective and unblinded; they often represent the result of multiple analyses of multiple endpoints, and it is difficult to identify the procedures used and analytic choices made because critical details are often omitted. While data bases can suggest problems and offer answers, they cannot prove them; data base analyses must be followed by trials.

Type
Special Section: Measuring Health Care Effectiveness: Use of Large Data Bases for Technology and Quality Assessments
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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References

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