Indirect comparisons of competing interventions

HealthTechnologyAssessment2005;Vol.9:No.26IndirectcomparisonsofcompetinginterventionsIndirectcomparisonsofcompetinginterventionsAMGlenny,DGAltman,FSong,CSakarovitch,JJDeeks,RD’Amico,MBradburnandAJEastwoodHealthTechnologyAssessment2005;Vol.9:No.26HTAHealthTechnologyAssessmentNHSR&DHTAProgrammeTheNationalCoordinatingCentreforHealthTechnologyAssessment,Mailpoint728,Boldrewood,UniversityofSouthampton,Southampton,SO167PX,UK.Fax:[phone]Email:[e-mail]()isaconvenientwaytopublishyourcomments.Ifyouprefer,youcansendyourcommentstotheaddressbelow,tellinguswhetheryouwouldlikeustotransferthemtothewebsite.Welookforwardtohearingfromyou.July2005HowtoobtaincopiesofthisandotherHTAProgrammereports.Anelectronicversionofthispublication,inAdobeAcrobatformat,isavailablefordownloadingfreeofchargeforpersonalusefromtheHTAwebsite().AfullysearchableCD-ROMisalsoavailable(seebelow).PrintedcopiesofHTAmonographscost£20each(postandpackingfreeintheUK)tobothpublicandprivatesectorpurchasersfromourDespatchAgents.Non-UKpurchaserswillhavetopayasmallfeeforpostandpacking.ForEuropeancountriesthecostis£2permonographandfortherestoftheworld£3permonograph.YoucanorderHTAmonographsfromourDespatchAgents:–fax(withcreditcardorofficialpurchaseorder)–post(withcreditcardorofficialpurchaseorderorcheque)–phoneduringofficehours(creditcardonly).AdditionallytheHTAwebsiteallowsyoueithertopaysecurelybycreditcardortoprintoutyourorderandthenpostorfaxit.Contactdetailsareasfollows:HTADespatchEmail:[e-mail]/oDirectMailWorksLtdTel:023924920004OakwoodBusinessCentreFax:02392478555Downley,HAVANTPO92NP,UKFaxfromoutsidetheUK:[phone]NHSlibrariescansubscribefreeofcharge.Publiclibrariescansubscribeataveryreducedcostof£100foreachvolume(normallycomprising30–40titles).Thecommercialsubscriptionrateis£300pervolume.Pleaseseeourwebsitefordetails.Subscriptionscanonlybepurchasedforthecurrentorforthcomingvolume.PaymentmethodsPayingbychequeIfyoupaybycheque,thechequemustbeinpoundssterling,madepayabletoDirectMailWorksLtdanddrawnonabankwithaUKaddress.PayingbycreditcardThefollowingcardsareacceptedbyphone,fax,postorviathewebsiteorderingpages:Delta,Eurocard,Mastercard,Solo,SwitchandVisa.Weadviseagainstsendingcreditcarddetailsinaplainemail.PayingbyofficialpurchaseorderYoucanpostorfaxthese,buttheymustbefrompublicbodies(i.e.NHSoruniversities)withintheUK.WecannotatpresentacceptpurchaseordersfromcommercialcompaniesorfromoutsidetheUK.HowdoIgetacopyofHTAonCD?PleaseusetheformontheHTAwebsite().OrcontactDirectMailWorks(seecontactdetailsabove)byemail,post,faxorphone.HTAonCDiscurrentlyfreeofchargeworldwide.ThewebsitealsoprovidesinformationabouttheHTAProgrammeandliststhemembershipofthevariouscommittees.HTAIndirectcomparisonsofcompetinginterventionsAMGlenny,1*DGAltman,2FSong,3CSakarovitch,2JJDeeks,2RD’Amico,2MBradburn2andAJEastwood4IncollaborationwiththeInternationalStrokeTrialCollaborativeGroup1CochraneOralHealthGroup,DentalSchool,UniversityofManchester,UK2CancerResearchUK,CentreforStatisticsinMedicine,WolfsonCollegeAnnexe,Oxford,UK3SchoolofMedicineHealthPolicyandPractice,UniversityofEastAnglia,Norwich,UK4CentreforReviewsandDissemination,UniversityofYork,UK*CorrespondingauthorDeclaredcompetinginterestsofauthors:nonePublishedJuly2005Thisreportshouldbereferencedasfollows:GlennyAM,AltmanDG,SongF,SakarovitchC,DeeksJJ,D’AmicoR,etal.Indirectcomparisonsofcompetinginterventions.HealthTechnolAssess2005;9(26).HealthTechnologyAssessmentisindexedandabstractedinIndexMedicus/MEDLINE,ExcerptaMedica/EMBASEandScienceCitationIndexExpanded(SciSearch®)andCurrentContents®/ClinicalMedicine.NHSR&DHTAProgrammeTheresearchfindingsfromtheNHSR&DHealthTechnologyAssessment(HTA)Programmedirectlyinfluencekeydecision-makingbodiessuchastheNationalInstituteforHealthandClinicalExcellence(NICE)andtheNationalScreeningCommittee(NSC)whorelyonHTAoutputstohelpraisestandardsofcare.HTAfindingsalsohelptoimprovethequalityoftheserviceintheNHSindirectlyinthattheyformakeycomponentofthe‘NationalKnowledgeService’thatisbeingdevelopedtoimprovetheevidenceofclinicalpracticethroughouttheNHS.TheHTAProgrammewassetupin1993.Itsroleistoensurethathigh-qualityresearchinformationonthecosts,effectivenessandbroaderimpactofhealthtechnologiesisproducedinthemostefficientwayforthosewhouse,manageandprovidecareintheNHS.‘Healthtechnologies’arebroadlydefinedtoincludeallinterventionsusedtopromotehealth,preventandtreatdisease,andimproverehabilitationandlong-termcare,ratherthansettingsofcare.TheHTAprogrammecommissionsresearchonlyontopicswhereithasidentifiedkeygapsintheevidenceneededbytheNHS.SuggestionsfortopicsareactivelysoughtfrompeopleworkingintheNHS,thepublic,consumergroupsandprofessionalbodiessuchasRoyalCollegesandNHSTrusts.Researchsuggestionsarecarefullyconsideredbypanelsofindependentexperts(includingconsumers)whoseadviceresultsinarankedlistofrec