A tool to improve quality of reporting published economic analyses

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Medical Journal Publishing

Background:

• Cost-utility analysis (CUA) is crucial for healthcare decision-making.
• Standardized reporting quality is essential for reliable CUA interpretation.
• The British Medical Journal (BMJ) developed an economic submissions checklist to address reporting quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of using the BMJ checklist for baseline quality assessment of CUA studies.
• To determine the interrater reliability of the BMJ checklist.
• To explore the long-term implications of using this checklist for improving CUA reporting.

Main Methods:

• A systematic assessment of 43 CUA studies published in peer-reviewed English language journals in 1996.
• Application of the BMJ economic submissions checklist and a quality index.
• Calculation of interrater reliability correlations to assess consistency.

Main Results:

• The BMJ checklist proved feasible for assessing CUA reporting quality.
• Out of 33 checklist items, 23 were deemed acceptable and 10 inadequate.
• Lowest quality scores were observed in specialist medical journals.
• Proportional agreement between assessors exceeded 80%.

Conclusions:

• The BMJ checklist is a practical tool for evaluating CUA reporting quality across diverse journals.
• Specialist medical journals are identified as having the greatest need for economic reporting guidance.
• Consideration of adopting the BMJ checklist by editors of specialist medical journals is recommended for enhanced reporting quality.