Adopting new medical technology [proceedings of the Forth Workshop in the Series "Examining Coverage and Adoption Decisions About Medical Technologies", held in Washington, DC, on September 18 -19, 1992

What information and decisionmaking processes determine how and whether an experimental medical technology becomes accepted and used? Adopting New Medical Technology reviews the strengths and weaknesses of present coverage and adoption practices, highlights opportunities for improving both the decisionmaking processes and the underlying information base, and considers approaches to instituting a much-needed increase in financial support for evaluative research. Essays explore the nature of technological change; the use of technology assessment in decisions by health care providers and federal, for-profit, and not-for-profit payers; the role of the courts in determining benefits coverage; strengthening the connections between evaluative research and coverage decisionmaking; manufacturers' responses to the increased demand for outcomes research; and the implications of health care reform for technology policy. This newly revised edition - a must for anyone using dogs for research or supervising that use - incorporates regulatory requirements and improved practices for laboratory animal care that have developed over the past two decades. It covers selection of dogs as research models; design, construction, and maintenance of indoor and outdoor facilities; temperature, humidity, food, water, bedding, sanitation, animal identification, record keeping, and transportation; and general veterinary care, as well as special care of breeding animals and random-source animals. Laboratory Animal Management: Dogs examines controversies over proper cage sizes and interpretation of federal requirements for exercise and offers recommendations for researchers. Guidelines are provided on how to recognize and alleviate pain and distress in research dogs, and the sensitive topic of euthanasia is covered in detail Reviewing the strengths and weaknesses of the coverage and adoption practices, this work highlights opportunities for improving both the decision making processes and the underlying information base. It also considers approaches to instituting a much-needed increase in financial support for evaluative research. It discusses how to assemble a proper research protocol and how to handle conflicts; outlines procedures for institutional animal care and use and committee review; and presents guidelines for handling aging dogs, use of radiation in experiments, and a wide range of other special circumstances