Description
Book SynopsisFor the past few years, the author, a renowned economist, has been applying the statistical tools of economics to decision making under uncertainty in the context of patient health status and response to treatment. He shows how statistical imprecision and identification problems affect empirical research in the patient-care sphere.
Trade Review"Medicine has made spectacular advances, but its techniques for approving and selecting treatments remain locked in statistical and experimental design methods developed in the first decades of the twentieth century. In this book, Manski gives an accessible, practical explanation for why failures to confront the ambiguities of treatment decisions harm patients. He describes how modern statistical decision theory, including his own contributions, can save lives if incorporated into medical training and the decision making of clinicians, standard-setting bodies, and regulatory agencies. This is a must-read for those who take the Hippocratic Oath seriously."
—Daniel McFadden, Nobel Laureate in Economics "Manski proposes clear, powerful strategies for improving patient care amid the many uncertainties typifying healthcare-delivery environments.
Patient Care under Uncertainty offers valuable insights that wise clinicians—and others working in healthcare systems or on health policy design—would do well to consider and to implement in practice."
—John Mullahy, University of Wisconsin–Madison “A thoughtful critique of medical decision making,
Patient Care under Uncertainty furthers clinical care and evidence-based medicine. Manski examines identification practices, introduces partial identification to a clinical audience, and builds our econometric/statistical toolkit. Just as social scientists have adopted randomized clinical trials, it would be worthwhile for clinicians to adopt Manski’s rich approach to econometrics.”
—Ahmad von Schlegell, MD"In this book, Manski highlights the tension between evidence generation in medicine and its credible use in healthcare decisions. Relying on decades of research, he presents various decision-theoretic principles for making better choices in the face of uncertainty. Accessible to a wide range of audiences, this book is a must-read for anyone grappling with the place of evidence in medical choices."
—Anirban Basu, University of Washington
