When is evidence sufficient?

Abstract

Traditional conceptualizations of evidence-based medicine rely heavily on randomized controlled trials. Although initiatives to broaden definitions of evidence have been advanced, they generally have not tied evidentiary criteria formally and quantitatively to the benefits and costs involved in a decision to adopt or reject an intervention. Decision analysis provides a framework for combining information to inform the adoption decision in this manner. Value-of-information analysis, a related methodology, helps to determine whether it is worthwhile to collect additional information as well as the type of research that would be most helpful.