ASSIGNING VALUE TO CLINICAL INFORMATION - A MAJOR LIMITING FACTOR IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEMS

This paper deals with a major difficulty and potential limiting factor in present-day decision support - that of assigning precise value to an item (or group of items) of clinical information. Historical determ inist descriptive thinking has been challenged by current concepts of uncertainty and probability, but neither view is adequate. Four equati ons are proposed outlining factors which affect the value of clinical information, which explain some previously puzzling observations conce rning decision support. It is suggested that without accommodation of these concepts, computer-aided decision support cannot progress furthe r, but if they can be accommodated in future programs, the implication s may be profound.