Encyclopedia of medical decision making /

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Bibliographic Details
Imprint:Thousand Oaks, Calif. : SAGE Publications, c2009.
Description:2 v. (xxxvi, 1229 p.) : ill. ; 29 cm.
Language:English
Subject:Medicine -- Decision making -- Encyclopedias.
Clinical medicine -- Decision making -- Encyclopedias.
Diagnosis -- Decision making -- Encyclopedias.
Clinical Medicine -- Encyclopedias -- English.
Decision Making -- Encyclopedias -- English.
Costs and Cost Analysis -- Encyclopedias -- English.
Decision Support Techniques -- Encyclopedias -- English.
Patient Participation -- Encyclopedias -- English.
Quality of Health Care -- Encyclopedias -- English.
Clinical medicine -- Decision making.
Diagnosis -- Decision making.
Medicine -- Decision making.
Encyclopedias.
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/7907129
Hidden Bibliographic Details
Varying Form of Title:Medical decision making
Other authors / contributors:Kattan, Michael W.
Cowen, Mark E.
ISBN:9781412953726 (cloth : alk. paper)
1412953723 (cloth : alk. paper)
Notes:Includes bibliographical references and index.
Review by Choice Review

In recent years, clinical decision making and evidence-based practice have become the buzzwords du jour in medical education. Editor Kattan (Cleveland Clinic) offers an encyclopedia that is a welcome addition to the standard fare in medical publishing. Rich with detail, impeccably researched, and comprehensive in scope, this set will serve as a one-stop reference for an audience ranging from first-year medical students to seasoned physicians. It succeeds in its goal by instructing and informing readers about key concepts, principles, and methods in the patient care decision-making process. All of the 300 entries, written by over 200 international contributors, deserve to be called full-length essays. Entries average three to five pages in length with quality bibliographical references, tables, charts, and See Also references (where applicable). Kattan's background in statistics is evident in the abundance of entries related to biostatistics, epidemiology, decision analysis, and outcomes measurement. Such content is well balanced by entries on foundational topics in evidence-based medicine and clinical decision making. All essays are carefully thorough and include applications and examples to illustrate difficult concepts. The value of this resource outweighs its cost, particularly for health science libraries affiliated with a medical school or teaching hospital. A reader's guide is included. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students through professionals/practitioners. J. S. Jameson University of Toledo

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review

Making medical decisions is a complex process. Whether it is a patient choosing treatment options or a public-health officer deciding how to deal with a disease outbreak, there are many factors to consider. This unique specialized encyclopedia examines the various aspects of medical decision making. The editors are physicians with academic appointments, and the international contributors come from universities and research institutes. They take a multidisciplinary approach to the field. The articles examine the mathematical and statistical aspects of decision making as well as biostatistics and clinical epidemiology, health outcomes and measurement, the perspective of the decision maker, the psychology underlying decision making, and the ethical aspects. Articles on subjects ranging from Bioethics to Case control to Cost measurement methods show that this is a complicated process. The articles, which are alphabetically arranged and range in length from two to four pages, are written for professionals in the field, with lots of equations and professional jargon. All are signed, and all have bibliographies. Each volume has a list of articles. Volume 1 also has a list of articles by subject area. The foreword contains a table of highly cited articles in the field from 1959 to 2003. The index is highly detailed. This is an excellent resource for academic health-sciences and medical libraries. Also available as an e-book.--Bibel, Barbara Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Aiming to introduce some of the "pitfalls and potential solutions" of medical decision making so that better decisions can be reached "with less regret," Kattan (chair, Cleveland Clinic; medicine, Case Western Reserve Univ.) has collected more than 300 essays prepared by over 200 international contributors. The collection attempts to synthesize two schools within the 50-year-old discipline: prescriptive studies, which investigates the process and technology involved in medical decision making, and descriptive studies, which examines how medical decisions are made. The signed entries, ranging in length from two paragraphs to six pages, cover a variety of topics, from bayesian evidence synthesis (which refers to a combination of multiple sources of evidence) to developmental theories (which concern changes that occur over the lifespan as a result of maturation and experience). The average reader may be able to manage such entries, but topics such as factor analysis, principal components analysis, and computational limitations will prove challenging to most. Thus, despite Kattan's claims that patients may use the encyclopedia to understand and interpret "the level of risks and benefits of treatment options," this work is more appropriate for those working in the field. BOTTOM LINE The only resource available on medical decision making, this is an excellent starting point for research by academics and medical practitioners. Recommended for university libraries and medical and research institutes.-Kam W. Teo, Weyburn P.L., Sask. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review


Review by Booklist Review


Review by Library Journal Review