Department of Health Technology and Services Research, University of Twente, PO Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Pharmacoeconomics. 2013 Jan;31(1):25-48. doi: 10.1007/s40273-012-0008-3.
This article provides a systematic and critical review of the evolving methods and applications of value of information (VOI) in academia and practice and discusses where future research needs to be directed.
Published VOI studies were identified by conducting a computerized search on Scopus and ISI Web of Science from 1980 until December 2011 using pre-specified search terms. Only full-text papers that outlined and discussed VOI methods for medical decision making, and studies that applied VOI and explicitly discussed the results with a view to informing healthcare decision makers, were included. The included papers were divided into methodological and applied papers, based on the aim of the study.
A total of 118 papers were included of which 50 % (n = 59) are methodological. A rapidly accumulating literature base on VOI from 1999 onwards for methodological papers and from 2005 onwards for applied papers is observed. Expected value of sample information (EVSI) is the preferred method of VOI to inform decision making regarding specific future studies, but real-life applications of EVSI remain scarce. Methodological challenges to VOI are numerous and include the high computational demands, dealing with non-linear models and interdependency between parameters, estimations of effective time horizons and patient populations, and structural uncertainties.
VOI analysis receives increasing attention in both the methodological and the applied literature bases, but challenges to applying VOI in real-life decision making remain. For many technical and methodological challenges to VOI analytic solutions have been proposed in the literature, including leaner methods for VOI. Further research should also focus on the needs of decision makers regarding VOI.
本文对价值信息（VOI）在学术和实践中不断发展的方法和应用进行了系统的批判性回顾，并讨论了未来研究的方向。
通过在 Scopus 和 ISI Web of Science 上使用预定义的检索词，对 1980 年至 2011 年 12 月期间的已发表 VOI 研究进行了计算机检索。仅纳入了概述和讨论了用于医疗决策的 VOI 方法的全文论文，以及应用了 VOI 并明确讨论了结果以期为医疗保健决策者提供信息的研究。根据研究目的，将纳入的论文分为方法学论文和应用论文。
共纳入 118 篇论文，其中 50%（n=59）为方法学论文。从 1999 年开始，方法学论文的 VOI 文献基础迅速积累，从 2005 年开始，应用论文的 VOI 文献基础也迅速积累。期望样本信息价值（EVSI）是用于为特定未来研究提供决策信息的首选 VOI 方法，但 EVSI 的实际应用仍然很少。VOI 面临着许多方法学挑战，包括计算需求高、处理非线性模型和参数之间的相互依赖性、有效时间范围和患者群体的估计以及结构不确定性。
VOI 分析在方法学和应用文献基础上都受到越来越多的关注，但在实际决策中应用 VOI 仍然面临挑战。针对 VOI 分析的许多技术和方法学挑战，文献中已经提出了一些解决方案，包括更精简的 VOI 方法。进一步的研究还应关注决策者对 VOI 的需求。
