Quality assurance in screening programmes

Br Med Bull. 1998;54(4):983-92. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bmb.a011742.

Abstract

All screening programmes do harm; some also do good. The responsibility of the policy-maker is to decide which programmes do more good than harm at reasonable cost and then introduce them, once they are confident that the screening programme could and will reach the standard of quality required for success. The ratio of benefit to harm is not, however, constant and this relationship demonstrates a shifting balance.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Mass Screening / adverse effects
  • Mass Screening / standards*
  • Quality Assurance, Health Care*
  • Risk Assessment