SBU receives proposals for assessment projects from many sources, eg, individuals, organizations, government agencies, and other decision-making bodies. The SBU Scientific Advisory Committee, which represents a broad range of professions in health care, recommends topics for new projects.
Generally, the topics selected are of major importance to public health and quality of life. These issues are of great concern, involving common health problems and technologies with major economic consequences. Some projects focus on conditions for which treatment and medical outcomes vary throughout the country. Ethically controversial issues and interventions that require major changes in organization or staffing also command high priority.
Before initiating an assessment project, SBU examines the scope of scientific literature available on the topic. An exploratory study shows whether or not it is feasible to draw conclusions based on scientific evidence, or whether major gaps in knowledge need to be filled.
The Board of Directors and the Scientific Advisory Committee then determine which of the proposed subjects should receive further assessment and be published by SBU as a Yellow Report, Alert Report, etc.
A Yellow Report may cover hundreds of medical methods, while an Alert Report addresses a single, emerging intervention in health care. Alert projects usually review and evaluate new technologies at an early stage in their life cycle, when they have not yet been thoroughly studied or widely used. Hence, the scientific evidence may be rather limited.
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