MOST industries have grasped the idea that new products should be measured against rival offerings. When it comes to health care, however, comparative-effectiveness studies for new drugs, devices and procedures are rare. Drugs trials often compare new treatments with placebos, not rival pills. Device makers rush to get new gizmos into action before cost-benefit analyses can be done. In America the federal government’s health programmes eschew comparative-effectiveness tests as a matter of policy.
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