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The SBU Alert Work Process

Identification of new methods

Many sources provide SBU Alert with suggestions about new methods needing assessment, for example:

  • employees within the health care system
  • organizations, for example the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Medical Products Agency and the county councils
  • the Alert Advisory Board and the staff of SBU
  • international counterparts of SBU Alert and the joint network EuroScan

Prioritization of methods

The Alert Advisory Board decides which of the suggested methods that should be assessed by Alert.

The methods that Alert assess must have been tested on patients. The results must have been published in a scientific journal or presented at a conference. The method should not already be well-studied or widely used in health care. However, Alert may assess an established method that will be used for a new indication.

Furthermore, the method should be expected to have a major impact on health services, for example, they may:

  • represent a medical breakthrough
  • affect a large group of patients
  • influence the structure of health delivery
  • result in controversy or have ethical and/or social implications
  • have a substantial economic impact

Review

  • One or more experts are appointed, sometimes at the recommendation of the Swedish Society of Medicine.
  • A draft, based on a standardized format, is prepared by the appointed expert in collaboration with SBU.
  • The draft is reviewed by at least one additional expert, the Alert Advisory Board and the SBU working committee. Where appropriate, manufacturers are asked to comment on the draft.
  • The report is updated when new, relevant, scientific documentation becomes available

Assessment of the scientific evidence

An SBU Alert report begins with summary and conclusions, which includes grading of scientific evidence concerning patient benefits and cost-effectiveness.

Dissemination

  • The SBU Alert report is published on the SBU home page
  • The summary and conclusions is translated into English
  • A newsletter is sent to SBU's email subscribers when the report is published. Subscribe to the Newsletter
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