Which treatment works best? Who will decide?

[Terri]

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
Associated Press
July 1, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Irregular heartbeat. Prostate cancer. Back pain. Hearing loss. The government is about to spend millions to try to uncover the best treatments for scores of ailments -- and how to handle these four biggies leads a list of top 100 questions that doctors need answered.

One of medicine's secrets: Doctors often have to guess at which treatment or test is best for a certain patient. There's very little good scientific evidence comparing them. As part of the economic stimulus package, Congress set aside a down payment of $1.1 billion to start figuring that out, so patients don't waste time and money on poor choices.

But where to start? Tuesday, the prestigious Institute of Medicine delivered a blueprint -- the top 100 priorities to study first.

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