Aiding clinical decisions with decision analysis

As clinical decision making gets ever more complex, new analytical approach es are being developed to help. Decision analysis is used to structure comp lex decision problems in an uncertain environment by systematically linking decision choices with expected outcomes. Such models can include the proba bilities of outcomes, patient preferences and costs. These models can help to advise about therapeutic avenues. This paper examines the nature of deci sion analysis, and explores the pitfalls that arise in interpreting the fin dings from published studies.