Several economic analyses have suggested that technological advances,
including new diagnostic tests, account for up to half of the
growth in health-care spending [9–11]. To address emerging technologies,
provider organizations should apply comparative effectiveness
research where available to make decisions about if and how to make
new high cost diagnostic tests available to providers. “Stewardship”
programs, modeled after those developed to manage antibiotic use
[12], should be developed for high cost tests in which specialty expertise
could support clinical decision-making.