Princeton, NJ, USA – Inevitably it happens: your car breaks down and you have to ask yourself, “What is the problem – really?” Health care researchers must ask the same question and then proceed to design a model that appropriately fits that problem.
In the paper, “
Conceptualizing a Model: A Report of the ISPOR-SMDM Modeling Good Research Practices Task Force Working Group-2,” expert health care research modelers describe best practices for conceptualizing models. Lead author, Mark Roberts, MD, MPP, references one recommendation that states, “Several model types may be suitable. Some problems are more naturally represented in some types than others.” Dr. Roberts goes on to say, “The important aspect of this recommendation is that it suggests that the structure and complexity of the problem itself should be the primary driver in determining the appropriate type of modeling method used to represent the problem. Too often, a modeling method that is less well suited to the task is used because of familiarity with the tool, rather than an appropriate match between the characteristics of the problem and the advantages of a particular modeling type.”
This paper is one of the seven papers in the series on modeling study best practices and is jointly published in
Value in Health, the official journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR), and
Medical Decision Making, the official journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM).
Value in Health (ISSN 1098-3015) publishes papers, concepts, and ideas that advance the field of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research as well as policy papers to help health care leaders make evidence-based decisions. The journal is published bi-monthly and has over 8,000 subscribers (clinicians, decision makers, and researchers worldwide).
International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) is a nonprofit, international, educational and scientific organization that strives to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness of health care resource use to improve health.
For more information:
www.ispor.org