Using evidence to inform coverage decisions: the Washington State experience.

To address the high cost, insufficient quality, and overutilization of specific medical technologies, the Washington State Health Technology Assessment Program was founded in 2007. This program produces binding decisions on which medical procedures and other technologies state-funded medical plans may cover. These evidence-based policy decisions are based on formal assessment of the medical evidence founded around the questions of technology effectiveness, safety, and cost. To date, the committee has evaluated a high proportion of radiologic technologies, with mixed decisions regarding coverage. Evidence-based policy can provide a valuable contribution to improving the quality of medical care through limiting public resources to those interventions of proven effectiveness.