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Perspectives on Clinical Decision‐Making: The Application of Pattern Analysis
Author(s) -
KNOEBEL SUZANNE B.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.1988.tb06353.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ventricular tachycardia , data mining , medical diagnosis , pattern analysis , clinical decision making , presentation (obstetrics) , clinical decision support system , qrs complex , ambulatory ecg , decision support system , ambulatory , pattern recognition (psychology) , medical physics , artificial intelligence , intensive care medicine , computer science , surgery , pathology
It is the thesis of this presentation that more precise diagnoses and prognostications result when clinical information is analyzed as data‐sets or patterns rather than collections of discrete data. Two examples are given in support of the thesis: the classification by computer of QRS complexes in the ambulatory electrocardiogram and the prediction of risk for recurrent ventricular tachycardia. The advantages to he gained from pattern analysis are: (1) significant variables are not preselected and the data are, therefore, unbiased, and (2) nuances in clinical patterns become evident when patients are presented as data‐sets. It is proposed that competent physicians undoubtedly use pattern analysis in their decision‐making and that expert systems designed to simulate physician behavior might be more accurate if based in pattern analysis.