Medical decision analysis : an application in hypertension.

Abstract

A decision analysis was conducted on the specific diagnostic category of hypertension to obtain optimal diagnosis- treatment procedures. Emphasis was placed on the problem formulation phase of the decision analysis. Twelve categories of sustained diastolic hypertensive patients were selected for problem formulation. The problem formulation had three diagnosis -treatment strategies: conduct laboratory tests to investigate for surgically correctable causes of hypertension, administer drugs to treat hypertension, and do nothing. The problem solution phase of the decision analysis was conducted in the environment of a military installation where the government was the sole provider. Three patient decision-makers, representing six of the twelve total patient categories, were used to analyze the three diagnosis-treatment strategies. Decision analysis results were intuitive, giving credence to the hypertension problem formulation and the decision analysis technique.