[Using value of information analysis in decision making about applied research. The case of genetic screening for hemochromatosis in Germany]
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026
A Point-of-Care Method with Integrated Decision Support Tool to Estimate Anemia at Population Level
Published on: January 19, 2024
W H Rogowski1, S D Grosse, E Meyer
1Institut für Gesundheitsökonomie und Management im Gesundheitswesen, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), 1129, 85758, Neuherberg, Deutschland. rogowski@helmholtz-muenchen.de
Abstract:
Public decision makers face demands to invest in applied research in order to accelerate the adoption of new genetic tests. However, such an investment is profitable only if the results gained from further investigations have a significant impact on health care practice. An upper limit for the value of additional information aimed at improving the basis for reimbursement decisions is given by the expected value of perfect information (EVPI). This study illustrates the significance of the concept of EVPI on the basis of a probabilistic cost-effectiveness model of screening for hereditary hemochromatosis among German men. In the present example, population-based screening can barely be recommended at threshold values of 50,000 or 100,000 Euro per life year gained and also the value of additional research which might cause this decision to be overturned is small: At the mentioned threshold values, the EVPI in the German public health care system was ca. 500,000 and 2,200,000 Euro, respectively. An analysis of EVPI by individual parameters or groups of parameters shows that additional research about adherence to preventive phlebotomy could potentially provide the highest benefit. The potential value of further research also depends on methodological assumptions regarding the decision maker's time horizon as well as on scenarios with an impact on the number of affected patients and the cost-effectiveness of screening.
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