Abstract
(English)
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The RAND Appropriateness Method (RAM) is a systematic approach to development of criteria for the appropriateness of medical procedures, combining knowledge from the medical literature and a systematic approach to multidisciplinary collective expert opinion. The main goal of this concerted action was to link ongoing European research employing the RAM in a way that co-ordinates methodological development, assesses the degree to which countries can benefit from each others' use of the RAM, and improves the delivery of health care through effective use of the results of the RAM.
During the project the following activities were undertaken and results achieved by the Lausanne group:
· Publication of several peer-reviewed articles on efficacy of lumbar discectomy for herinated lumbar disc; over- and underuse of gastointestinal endoscopy; use of the WWW to develop and disseminate appropriateness criteria; the appropriateness of colonoscopy; the reproducibility of panel-based criteria for the appropriateness of colonoscopy.
· Planning, hosting and conducting a working meeting of BIOMED partners on computer applications related to the RAND appropriateness method (Nov. 1997).
· Planning, hosting and conducting a European expert panel on the appropriate use of gastrointestinal endoscopy, with experts from nine European countries (F, UK, DK, D, I, E, N, NL, CH) (Nov. 1998)
· Preparation and publication of a literature review on the appropriateness of gastrointestinal endoscopy.
· Participation in a European expert panel on the appropriate use of interventional cardiology, with experts from five European countries (UK, SE, I, NL, CH), Dec. 1998.
· Preparation of an bi-national, multidisciplinary expert panel on the appropriate use of percutaneous renal artery angioplasty (Oct. 1999).
· Presentation of results stemming from this project at various national and international scientific gatherings.
· Publication of a special issue of the journal Endoscopy (8:1999) devoted to the European Panel on the Appropriateness of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (EPAGE) project.
· Development of a www site on criteria for the appropriate use of gastrointestinal endoscopy (http://www.epage.ch).
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