2011: Heterogeneity in benefit assessments

Institutions assessing the benefits and harms of medical interventions are often confronted with the fact that, due to their heterogeneity, studies forming the basis of the assessment can be pooled only with difficulty or not at all. This is the case, for example, when studies show different characteristics, e.g. regarding disease severity, dosage of medication, or study duration.

The meeting "IQWiG in Dialogue 2011” therefore addressed the statistical methods for examining heterogeneity, as well as the handling of heterogeneity in the assessment of the benefits and harms of interventions.