Diagnostic imaging in cancer care. The role of cost/benefit analysis.

As the cost of medical care rises, there is increasing need to analyze the costs and benefits of diagnostic imaging. A review of previous research shows reasonable success at defining costs and the ability to identify safety and risk, but limited data on defining benefits in economic terms. The technology to analyze costs and benefits is improving, and satisfactory research protocols and methods have recently become generally accepted. While research studies to determine costs and benefits or efficacy are themselves costly, time consuming, and difficult to perform in clinical practice, the wise allocation of medical resources in the US requires physicians in all specialties to evaluate the technology when we are responsible for its use.