Guideline development on healthcare related testing

This thesis addresses guideline development on healthcare-related testing. Testing includes among others diagnostic, screening, and follow-up testing. The thesis identifies challenges in the methods of guideline development on testing and suggests solutions. Furthermore, this thesis illustrates that the current practice of guideline development on testing is suboptimal since the impact of testing on people's important outcomes is typically not described. Subsequently, this thesis outlines the knowledge required for adequate guideline development on healthcare-related testing. The main message from this is that guideline developers should understand that testing aims to improve people's important outcomes and that a series of steps is needed to move from testing to these outcomes. Finally, the thesis includes a step-by-step guide to formulate focused guideline questions on testing, that include the impact on people's important outcomes, as well as a chapter with educational examples.