DECISION TREES FOR PATIENTS.

DECISION TREES FOR PATIENTS. Laura Landro’s review describes how Doctors Groopman and Hartzband “examine a formula for rational decision-making often used in economics: Measure the probability of an outcome and place a numerical value on the outcome itself.” The probable value of each medical result can then be compared. The tool described is known as a “decision tree.” It is called a decision tree because there may be a series of outcomes to be evaluated with each choice, and a graph of the analysis looks like the branches of a tree. Here is an example of the use of a decision tree with a drawing of a decision tree. Yoram Bauman, the Standup Economist I posted about here, begins his exposition of microeconomics in THE CARTOON INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMICS with decision trees.