Decision Tools to Improve Personalized Care in Cardiovascular Disease Moving the Art of Medicine Toward Science

摘要

The proliferation of data collected in routine clinical care and advances in quantitative analytic methods have created immediate opportunities to individualize cardiovascular care through the use of decision tools. Such tools rely on the analysis of simple variables collected from medical records or direct patient observation to identify those with the most to gain or lose from treatment, as determined by the collective experiences of similar patients treated previously. However, a number of obstacles limit the creation and use of decision tools. Here, we review the theoretical foundation of decision tools, highlight examples of successful efforts to model heterogeneity in treatment benefit, and suggest future goals to better use quantitative methods to personalize care.