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Evidence-based medicine as Bayesian decision-making.

D Ashby·A F Smith
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Abstract

We review two recent trends: the emergence of evidence-based medicine and the growing use of Bayesian statistics in medical applications. Evidence-based medicine requires an integrated assessment of the available evidence, and associated uncertainty, but there is also an emphasis on decision-making, for individual patients, or at other points in the health-care system. This demands consideration of the values and costs associated with potential outcomes. We argue that the natural statistical framework for evidence-based medicine is a Bayesian approach to decision-making that incorporates an integrated summary of the available evidence and associated uncertainty with assessment of utilities. We outline a practical agenda for further development.

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D Ashby, A F Smith. 2000-12-15. Evidence-based medicine as Bayesian decision-making.. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0258(20001215)19%3A23%3C3291%3A%3Aaid-sim627%3E3.0.co%3B2-t

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