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Morris AH, Horvat C, Stagg B, Grainger DW, Lanspa M, Orme J, Clemmer TP, Weaver LK, Thomas FO, Grissom CK, Hirshberg E, East TD, Wallace CJ, Young MP, Sittig DF, Suchyta M, Pearl JE, Pesenti A, Bombino M, Beck E, Sward KA, Weir C, Phansalkar S, Bernard GR, Thompson BT, Brower R, Truwit J, Steingrub J, Hiten RD, Willson DF, Zimmerman JJ, Nadkarni V, Randolph AG, Curley MAQ, Newth CJL, Lacroix J, Agus MSD, Lee KH, deBoisblanc BP, Moore FA, Evans RS, Sorenson DK, Wong A, Boland MV, Dere WH, Crandall A, Facelli J, Huff SM, Haug PJ, Pielmeier U, Rees SE, Karbing DS, Andreassen S, Fan E, Goldring RM, Berger KI, Oppenheimer BW, Ely EW, Pickering BW, Schoenfeld DA, Tocino I, Gonnering RS, Pronovost PJ, Savitz LA, Dreyfuss D, Slutsky AS, Crapo JD, Pinsky MR, James B, Berwick DM. Computer clinical decision support that automates personalized clinical care: a challenging but needed healthcare delivery strategy. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2022; 30:178-194. [PMID: 36125018 PMCID: PMC9748596 DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocac143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
How to deliver best care in various clinical settings remains a vexing problem. All pertinent healthcare-related questions have not, cannot, and will not be addressable with costly time- and resource-consuming controlled clinical trials. At present, evidence-based guidelines can address only a small fraction of the types of care that clinicians deliver. Furthermore, underserved areas rarely can access state-of-the-art evidence-based guidelines in real-time, and often lack the wherewithal to implement advanced guidelines. Care providers in such settings frequently do not have sufficient training to undertake advanced guideline implementation. Nevertheless, in advanced modern healthcare delivery environments, use of eActions (validated clinical decision support systems) could help overcome the cognitive limitations of overburdened clinicians. Widespread use of eActions will require surmounting current healthcare technical and cultural barriers and installing clinical evidence/data curation systems. The authors expect that increased numbers of evidence-based guidelines will result from future comparative effectiveness clinical research carried out during routine healthcare delivery within learning healthcare systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan H Morris
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Christopher Horvat
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brian Stagg
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - David W Grainger
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Michael Lanspa
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - James Orme
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Terry P Clemmer
- Department of Internal Medicine (Critical Care), Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Lindell K Weaver
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Frank O Thomas
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Colin K Grissom
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Ellie Hirshberg
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Thomas D East
- SYNCRONYS - Chief Executive Officer, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Carrie Jane Wallace
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Michael P Young
- Department of Critical Care, Renown Regional Medical Center, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Dean F Sittig
- School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Mary Suchyta
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - James E Pearl
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Antinio Pesenti
- Faculty of Medicine and Surgery—Anesthesiology, University of Milan, Milano, Lombardia, Italy
| | - Michela Bombino
- Department of Emergency and Intensive Care, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza (MB), Italy
| | - Eduardo Beck
- Faculty of Medicine and Surgery - Anesthesiology, University of Milan, Ospedale di Desio, Desio, Lombardia, Italy
| | - Katherine A Sward
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Charlene Weir
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Shobha Phansalkar
- Wolters Kluwer Health—Clinical Solutions—Medical Informatics, Wolters Kluwer Health, Newton, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gordon R Bernard
- Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - B Taylor Thompson
- Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Roy Brower
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jonathon Truwit
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jay Steingrub
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Baystate Campus, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
| | - R Duncan Hiten
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Douglas F Willson
- Pediatric Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Jerry J Zimmerman
- Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Vinay Nadkarni
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Adrienne G Randolph
- Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Martha A Q Curley
- University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Christopher J L Newth
- Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jacques Lacroix
- Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Université de Montréal Faculté de Médecine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Michael S D Agus
- Division of Medical Pediatric Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kang Hoe Lee
- Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Ng Teng Fong Hospital and National University Centre of Transplantation, National University Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore
| | - Bennett P deBoisblanc
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Frederick Alan Moore
- Department of Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - R Scott Evans
- Department of Medical Informatics, Intermountain Healthcare, and Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Dean K Sorenson
- Department of Medical Informatics, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Anthony Wong
- Department of Data Science Ann and Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Michael V Boland
- Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Ear and Eye Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Willard H Dere
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Alan Crandall
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Posthumous
| | - Julio Facelli
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Stanley M Huff
- Department of Medical Informatics, Intermountain Healthcare, Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, and Graphite Health, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Peter J Haug
- Department of Medical Informatics, Intermountain Healthcare, and Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Ulrike Pielmeier
- Aalborg University Faculty of Engineering and Science - Department of Health Science and Technology, Respiratory and Critical Care Group, Aalborg, Nordjylland, Denmark
| | - Stephen E Rees
- Aalborg University Faculty of Engineering and Science - Department of Health Science and Technology, Respiratory and Critical Care Group, Aalborg, Nordjylland, Denmark
| | - Dan S Karbing
- Aalborg University Faculty of Engineering and Science - Department of Health Science and Technology, Respiratory and Critical Care Group, Aalborg, Nordjylland, Denmark
| | - Steen Andreassen
- Aalborg University Faculty of Engineering and Science - Department of Health Science and Technology, Respiratory and Critical Care Group, Aalborg, Nordjylland, Denmark
| | - Eddy Fan
- Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Division, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Roberta M Goldring
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kenneth I Berger
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Beno W Oppenheimer
- Department of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - E Wesley Ely
- Internal Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care, Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Tennessee Valley Veteran’s Affairs Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center (GRECC), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Brian W Pickering
- Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - David A Schoenfeld
- Biostatistics Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Irena Tocino
- Department of Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Russell S Gonnering
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Peter J Pronovost
- Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, University Hospitals, Highland Hills, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Lucy A Savitz
- Northwest Center for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California, USA
| | - Didier Dreyfuss
- Assistance Publique—Hôpitaux de Paris, Université de Paris, Sorbonne Université - INSERM unit UMR S_1155 (Common and Rare Kidney Diseases), Paris, France
| | - Arthur S Slutsky
- Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Keenan Research Center, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - James D Crapo
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Michael R Pinsky
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brent James
- Department of Internal Medicine, Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Donald M Berwick
- Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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Morris AH, Stagg B, Lanspa M, Orme J, Clemmer TP, Weaver LK, Thomas F, Grissom CK, Hirshberg E, East TD, Wallace CJ, Young MP, Sittig DF, Pesenti A, Bombino M, Beck E, Sward KA, Weir C, Phansalkar SS, Bernard GR, Taylor Thompson B, Brower R, Truwit JD, Steingrub J, Duncan Hite R, Willson DF, Zimmerman JJ, Nadkarni VM, Randolph A, Curley MAQ, Newth CJL, Lacroix J, Agus MSD, Lee KH, deBoisblanc BP, Scott Evans R, Sorenson DK, Wong A, Boland MV, Grainger DW, Dere WH, Crandall AS, Facelli JC, Huff SM, Haug PJ, Pielmeier U, Rees SE, Karbing DS, Andreassen S, Fan E, Goldring RM, Berger KI, Oppenheimer BW, Wesley Ely E, Gajic O, Pickering B, Schoenfeld DA, Tocino I, Gonnering RS, Pronovost PJ, Savitz LA, Dreyfuss D, Slutsky AS, Crapo JD, Angus D, Pinsky MR, James B, Berwick D. Enabling a learning healthcare system with automated computer protocols that produce replicable and personalized clinician actions. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2021; 28:1330-1344. [PMID: 33594410 PMCID: PMC8661391 DOI: 10.1093/jamia/ocaa294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Clinical decision-making is based on knowledge, expertise, and authority, with clinicians approving almost every intervention-the starting point for delivery of "All the right care, but only the right care," an unachieved healthcare quality improvement goal. Unaided clinicians suffer from human cognitive limitations and biases when decisions are based only on their training, expertise, and experience. Electronic health records (EHRs) could improve healthcare with robust decision-support tools that reduce unwarranted variation of clinician decisions and actions. Current EHRs, focused on results review, documentation, and accounting, are awkward, time-consuming, and contribute to clinician stress and burnout. Decision-support tools could reduce clinician burden and enable replicable clinician decisions and actions that personalize patient care. Most current clinical decision-support tools or aids lack detail and neither reduce burden nor enable replicable actions. Clinicians must provide subjective interpretation and missing logic, thus introducing personal biases and mindless, unwarranted, variation from evidence-based practice. Replicability occurs when different clinicians, with the same patient information and context, come to the same decision and action. We propose a feasible subset of therapeutic decision-support tools based on credible clinical outcome evidence: computer protocols leading to replicable clinician actions (eActions). eActions enable different clinicians to make consistent decisions and actions when faced with the same patient input data. eActions embrace good everyday decision-making informed by evidence, experience, EHR data, and individual patient status. eActions can reduce unwarranted variation, increase quality of clinical care and research, reduce EHR noise, and could enable a learning healthcare system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan H Morris
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine
- Department of Biomedical Informatics
| | - Brian Stagg
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and John Moran Eye Center
| | - Michael Lanspa
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - James Orme
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine
- Department of Biomedical Informatics
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Terry P Clemmer
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine
- Department of Biomedical Informatics
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Emeritus
| | - Lindell K Weaver
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine
- Department of Biomedical Informatics
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Frank Thomas
- Department of Value Engineering, University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
- Emeritus
| | - Colin K Grissom
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine
- Department of Biomedical Informatics
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Ellie Hirshberg
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Thomas D East
- SYNCRONYS, and University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library & Informatics, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
| | - Carrie Jane Wallace
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and John Moran Eye Center
- Emeritus
| | - Michael P Young
- Critical Care Division, Renown Medical Center, School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA
| | - Dean F Sittig
- School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Antonio Pesenti
- Dipartimento di Anestesia, Rianimazione ed Emergenza-Urgenza, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Michela Bombino
- Department of Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, ASST-Monza San Gerardo Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | - Eduardo Beck
- Ospedale di Desio—ASST Monza, UOC Anestesia e Rianimazione, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Charlene Weir
- Department of Biomedical Informatics
- School of Nursing
| | | | - Gordon R Bernard
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Allergy Division, Department of Internal Medicine
| | - B Taylor Thompson
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division , Department of Internal Medicine
| | - Roy Brower
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jonathon D Truwit
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Jay Steingrub
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts, USA
| | - R Duncan Hite
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Douglas F Willson
- Division of Pediatric Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Jerry J Zimmerman
- Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Vinay M Nadkarni
- Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine
- Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine
| | | | - Martha A. Q Curley
- Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine
- School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Christopher J. L Newth
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Jacques Lacroix
- Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine and Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | | | - Kang H Lee
- Asian American Liver Centre, Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Bennett P deBoisblanc
- Section of Pulmonary/Critical Care & Allergy/Immunology, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | | | | | - Anthony Wong
- Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - David W Grainger
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Utah
| | - Willard H Dere
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Utah
| | - Alan S Crandall
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and John Moran Eye Center
| | - Julio C Facelli
- Department of Biomedical Informatics
- Center for Clinical and Translational Science, School of Medicine
| | | | | | - Ulrike Pielmeier
- Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Stephen E Rees
- Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Dan S Karbing
- Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Steen Andreassen
- Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Eddy Fan
- Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
| | - Roberta M Goldring
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kenneth I Berger
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Beno W Oppenheimer
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Division, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - E Wesley Ely
- Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Allergy Division, Department of Internal Medicine
- Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction, and Survivorship (CIBS) Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Tennessee Valley Veterans Affairs Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center (GRECC), Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Ognjen Gajic
- Pulmonary , Critical Care, and Sleep Division, Department of Internal Medicine
| | - Brian Pickering
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - David A Schoenfeld
- Department of Biostatistics, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Irena Tocino
- Department of Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Russell S Gonnering
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Peter J Pronovost
- Critical Care, Department of Anesthesia, Chief Clinical Transformation Officer, University Hospitals, Highland Hills, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Lucy A Savitz
- Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Didier Dreyfuss
- Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, Université de Paris, INSERM unit UMR S_1155 (Common and Rare Kidney Diseases), Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Arthur S Slutsky
- Keenan Research Center, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute / ST. Michaels' Hospital and Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - James D Crapo
- Department of Internal Medicine, National Jewish Health, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Derek Angus
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michael R Pinsky
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brent James
- Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC), Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA
| | - Donald Berwick
- Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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Abstract
Abstract:If the essence of clinical practice is a process of sequential problem-solving, whereby a physician works with a patient to formulate a series of decisions about diagnostic treatment, then it would naturally follow that the essence of medical education should evolve around the training of would-be clinicians in the difficult art of diagnostic decisionmaking. Yet this is not often the case.
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Abstract
Large, randomized clinical trials ("megatrials") are key drivers of modern cardiovascular practice, since they are cited frequently as the authoritative foundation for evidence-based management policies. Nevertheless, fundamental limitations in the conventional approach to statistical hypothesis testing undermine the scientific basis of the conclusions drawn from these trials. This review describes the conventional approach to statistical inference, highlights its limitations, and proposes an alternative approach based on Bayes' theorem. Despite its inherent subjectivity, the Bayesian approach possesses a number of practical advantages over the conventional approach: 1). it allows the explicit integration of previous knowledge with new empirical data; 2). it avoids the inevitable misinterpretations of p values derived from megatrial populations; and 3). it replaces the misleading p value with a summary statistic having a natural, clinically relevant interpretation-the probability that the study hypothesis is true given the observations. This posterior probability thereby quantifies the likelihood of various magnitudes of therapeutic benefit rather than the single null magnitude to which the p value refers, and it lends itself to graphical sensitivity analyses with respect to its underlying assumptions. Accordingly, the Bayesian approach should be employed more widely in the design, analysis, and interpretation of clinical megatrials.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A Diamond
- Division of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Berman D, Hachamovitch R, Lewin H, Friedman J, Shaw L, Germano G. Risk stratification in coronary artery disease: implications for stabilization and prevention. Am J Cardiol 1997; 79:10-6. [PMID: 9223352 DOI: 10.1016/s0002-9149(97)00380-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Noninvasive nuclear imaging techniques, including dual-isotope myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), have been employed in the development of strategies for diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease. These risk-stratification strategies are based on studies in which known outcome has been linked to diagnostic and prognostic information provided by myocardial perfusion SPECT. This article describes a validated dual-isotope exercise protocol for assessment of perfusion and function and reviews the evidence on which a cost-effective risk management strategy is based.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Berman
- Division of Nuclear Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California 90048-1865, USA
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Diamond GA, Denton TA, Berman DS, Cohen I. Prior restraint: a Bayesian perspective on the optimization of technology utilization for diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol 1995; 76:82-6. [PMID: 7793413 DOI: 10.1016/s0002-9149(99)80809-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
In conclusion, at least 1/3 of patients with suspected coronary artery disease are inappropriately referred for scintigraphic diagnostic testing from a Bayesian such as those described in this report, may be a powerful mechanism for encouraging more appropriate technology utilization while simultaneously controlling costs, and are thereby deserving of a formal prospective demonstration trial. However, since only half the patients currently being tested are referred for diagnostic purposes, analogous strategies must be developed with respect to prognostic and therapeutic evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- G A Diamond
- Division of Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
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Abstract
There has been an enormous increase in the variety and volume of information encountered in surgical practice, either as measurable clinical variables or laboratory research data over the last three decades. Despite its form and origin, this information remains the basis of both daily clinical decision making and analytical research. Inferences drawn from past experience will modify an individual's approach to disease and treatment. However, when the demands of information processing cannot be met, mischief begins and quality of care declines. Modern computers offer an extraordinarily powerful method of processing the large volumes of medical data that are acquired, and provide techniques for analysis that would have been impossible, and often inconceivable, without computers. The applications of computer technology to surgical data management range from such simple and repetitive tasks as practice administration and accounting to elegant statistical and image analysis. This paper outlines the utility of computerized data management in clinical surgery and surgical research, and describes techniques for designing and implementing a customized surgical database system.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Cavaye
- Department of Surgery, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance 90509
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Morise AP, Detrano R, Bobbio M, Diamond GA. Development and validation of a logistic regression-derived algorithm for estimating the incremental probability of coronary artery disease before and after exercise testing. J Am Coll Cardiol 1992; 20:1187-96. [PMID: 1401621 DOI: 10.1016/0735-1097(92)90377-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Our goals were to develop and validate a multivariate algorithm for estimating the incremental probability of the presence of coronary artery disease. BACKGROUND Multivariate methods, including logistic regression analysis, have been extensively applied to diagnostic exercise testing. However, few previous studies have included both an incremental design and external validation. METHODS A retrospective collection of clinical, exercise test and catheterization data was performed involving four U.S. referral medical centers. All patients had no prior history of coronary disease and had undergone coronary angiography < or = 3 months after exercise stress testing. An algorithm was developed in one center (590 patients with a 41% prevalence of coronary artery disease) with the use of logistic regression analysis and was validated in the other three centers (1,234 patients, 70% prevalence). The algorithm incorporated pretest variables (age, gender, symptoms, diabetes, cholesterol), exercise electrocardiographic (ECG) variables (mm of ST segment depression, ST slope, peak heart rate, metabolic equivalents [METs], exercise angina) and one thallium variable. Discrimination was measured with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Calibration (that is, reliability) was assessed from a comparison of probability estimates and the actual prevalence of disease. RESULTS The overall incremental receiver operating characteristic curve areas for the validation group were pretest, -0.738 +/- 0.016; postexercise ECG, 0.78 (SE 0.017); and postthallium, 0.82 (SE 0.016); p < 0.01 for both increments. Within the three validation institutions, the institution with a disease prevalence closest to that of the derivation institution had the best incremental receiver operating characteristic curve areas. There was a stepwise incremental improvement in calibration especially from exercise ECG to thallium testing. CONCLUSIONS An incremental multivariate algorithm derived in one center reliably estimated disease probability in patients from three other centers. The incremental value of testing was best demonstrated when the derivation and validation groups had a similar disease prevalence. This algorithm may be useful in decision making that relates to the diagnosis of coronary disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Morise
- Department of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown 26506
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9
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Plasencia CM, Alderman BW, Barón AE, Rolfs RT, Boyko EJ. A method to describe physician decision thresholds and its application in examining the diagnosis of coronary artery disease based on exercise treadmill testing. Med Decis Making 1992; 12:204-12. [PMID: 1513211 DOI: 10.1177/0272989x9201200306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The authors developed a method that utilizes logistic regression analysis to 1) calculate the disease probability with confidence intervals at which any specified proportion of physicians reaches a clinical decision, 2) statistically test whether factors other than disease probability affect this clinical decision, and 3) statistically test whether physician decision making in relation to disease probability varies by other factors. They apply the method to analyze the relationship between disease probability and the proportion of physicians who diagnosed coronary artery disease (CAD) in 127 consecutive subjects who completed the treadmill exercise tolerance test (ETT) at two hospitals. Twenty-five percent of the physicians decided that CAD was possible or definite at a post-ETT disease probability of 0.24 (95% CL= 0.07-0.35); 50% at 0.54 (95% CL = 0.43-0.70); and 75% at 0.82 (95% CL = 0.67-1.0). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed three factors significantly and independently related to the diagnosis of CAD: post-ETT disease probability, positive ETT result, and cigarette smoking. The proportion of physicians who reached a diagnosis of CAD did not differ by hospital setting (VA versus university), level of training (attending versus housestaff/fellow), or diagnosing service (cardiology versus other internal medicine). It is concluded that factors other than disease probability may affect physician diagnostic decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C M Plasencia
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver
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10
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Morise AP, Duval RD, Detrano R, Bobbio M, Diamond GA. Comparison of logistic regression and Bayesian-based algorithms to estimate posttest probability in patients with suspected coronary artery disease undergoing exercise ECG. J Electrocardiol 1992; 25:89-99. [PMID: 1522402 DOI: 10.1016/0022-0736(92)90113-e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Two multivariate methods, a logistic regression-derived algorithm and a Bayesian independence-assuming method (CADENZA), were compared concerning their abilities to estimate posttest probability of coronary disease in patients with suspected coronary disease. All patients underwent exercise testing within 3 months prior to coronary angiography. Coronary disease was defined as the presence of one or more vessels with greater than or equal to 50% luminal diameter narrowing. A group of 300 patients (disease prevalence = 37%) was used to derive the algorithm. Another group of 950 patients was used to validate the algorithm and compare it to CADENZA. Seven variables (age, sex, symptoms, diabetes, mm ST depression, ST slope, and peak heart rate) were used to generate posttest probabilities for each method. The receiver operating characteristic curve area for the logistic regression method (0.81 +/- 0.01) was significantly higher than CADENZA (0.75 +/- 0.01; p less than 0.05). There was, however, no difference in the calibration of the two methods. When given equivalent variable information, the logistic regression algorithm had better discrimination than CADENZA for estimating the probability of coronary disease following exercise electrocardiography.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Morise
- Department of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown 26506
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11
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Griffith MJ, de Belder MA, Linker NJ, Ward DE, Camm AJ. Multivariate analysis to simplify the differential diagnosis of broad complex tachycardia. Heart 1991; 66:166-74. [PMID: 1883669 PMCID: PMC1024611 DOI: 10.1136/hrt.66.2.166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Univariate analysis has identified several criteria that aid the differential diagnosis of broad complex tachycardia. In this study of 102 consecutive patients multivariate analysis was performed to identify which of 15 clinical and 11 electrocardiographic variables were independent predictors of ventricular tachycardia. These were shown to be a history of myocardial infarction, the QRS waveforms in leads aVF and V1, and a change in axis from sinus rhythm to tachycardia of more than 40 degrees. If none of the criteria was met, the diagnosis was almost certainly supraventricular tachycardia. If one criterion was met the diagnosis was probably supraventricular tachycardia. If two criteria were met then the diagnosis was probably ventricular tachycardia. If three or four criteria were met, the diagnosis was almost certainly ventricular tachycardia. The predictive accuracy was 93%. This was increased to 95% by including two other criteria--definite independent P wave activity and ventricular extrasystoles with the same QRS configuration as that in tachycardia. These criteria were not included in the multivariate analysis because though they were 100% specific they were seldom seen. These four criteria can be used as simple rules in determining the origin of a broad complex tachycardia.
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Affiliation(s)
- M J Griffith
- Department of Cardiological Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
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12
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Detrano R, Janosi A, Steinbrunn W, Pfisterer M, Schmid JJ, Sandhu S, Guppy KH, Lee S, Froelicher V. International application of a new probability algorithm for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol 1989; 64:304-10. [PMID: 2756873 DOI: 10.1016/0002-9149(89)90524-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 297] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
A new discriminant function model for estimating probabilities of angiographic coronary disease was tested for reliability and clinical utility in 3 patient test groups. This model, derived from the clinical and noninvasive test results of 303 patients undergoing angiography at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, was applied to a group of 425 patients undergoing angiography at the Hungarian Institute of Cardiology in Budapest, Hungary (disease prevalence 38%); 200 patients undergoing angiography at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Long Beach, California (disease prevalence 75%); and 143 such patients from the University Hospitals in Zurich and Basel, Switzerland (disease prevalence 84%). The probabilities that resulted from the application of the Cleveland algorithm were compared with those derived by applying a Bayesian algorithm derived from published medical studies called CADENZA to the same 3 patient test groups. Both algorithms overpredicted the probability of disease at the Hungarian and American centers. Overprediction was more pronounced with the use of CADENZA (average overestimation 16 vs 10% and 11 vs 5%, p less than 0.001). In the Swiss group, the discriminant function underestimated (by 7%) and CADENZA slightly overestimated (by 2%) disease probability. Clinical utility, assessed as the percentage of patients correctly classified, was modestly superior for the new discriminant function as compared with CADENZA in the Hungarian group and similar in the American and Swiss groups. It was concluded that coronary disease probabilities derived from discriminant functions are reliable and clinically useful when applied to patients with chest pain syndromes and intermediate disease prevalence.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Detrano
- Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Long Beach, California 90822
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13
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Hafner AW, Filipowicz AB, Whitely WP. Computers in medicine: liability issues for physicians. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MONITORING AND COMPUTING 1989; 6:185-94. [PMID: 2592846 DOI: 10.1007/bf01721032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Physicians routinely use computers to store, access, and retrieve medical information. As computer use becomes even more widespread in medicine, failure to utilize information systems may be seen as a violation of professional custom and lead to findings of professional liability. Even when a technology is not widespread, failure to incorporate it into medical practice may give rise to liability if the technology is accessible to the physician and reduces risk to the patient. Improvement in the availability of medical information sources imposes a greater burden on the physician to keep current and to obtain informed consent from patients. To routinely perform computer-assisted literature searches for informed consent and diagnosis is 'good medicine'. Clinical and diagnostic applications of computer technology now include computer-assisted decision making with the aid of sophisticated databases. Although such systems will expand the knowledge base and competence of physicians, malfunctioning software raises a major liability question. Also, complex computer-driven technology is used in direct patient care. Defective or improperly used hardware or software can lead to patient injury, thus raising additional complicated questions of professional liability and product liability.
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Affiliation(s)
- A W Hafner
- Division of Library & Information Management, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL 60610
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Steingart RM, Wassertheil-Smoller S, Budner N, Tobin J, Wachspress J, Lense L, Wexler JP, Slagle S. The clinical use of nuclear exercise tests. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 1987; 4:613-22. [PMID: 10291101 DOI: 10.1017/s0266462300007662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
In the mid-1970s, after decades of clinical use, the utility of electrocardiographic exercise testing for the evaluation of patients with suspected ischemic heart disease was critically examined and questioned. Concurrent with this critique, two sophisticated, more expensive and powerful "nuclear" exercise tests were introduced sequentially for clinical use: myocardial perfusion imaging with thallium-201 and radionuclide ventriculography with technetium 99m. The published indications for the two tests are similar, and both have been shown to offer advantages over ECG stress testing in selected populations. However, few data are available regarding the comparative utility of thallium versus ventriculographic imaging. As part of a prospective study to assess the efficacy of cardiovascular nuclear medicine studies, we undertook the present analysis to assess the clinical evolution of these tests and to elucidate factors responsible for clinicians' choice for the often competing examinations. The study examined 213 consecutive patient referrals for thallium scintigraphy and 183 referrals for ventriculography, ranging from patients with no symptoms or highly non-specific chest pain syndromes (21% of referrals) to patients with proven coronary disease (28% of the referrals). Twenty-one percent of patients were referred to confirm the clinical impression that the patient did not have coronary disease, 40% to confirm its presence, and 37% to determine its severity. Analyses were undertaken to determine the factors that dictated a preference for thallium scintigraphy rather than ventriculography; only the physician's intent in testing and level of training were significant predictors for a particular nuclear test.
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