The Stroke Prevention Policy Model: Linking Evidence and Clinical Decisions

15 October 1997 | Volume 127 Issue 5 Part 2 | Pages 704-711

Simulation models that support decision and cost-effectiveness analysis can further the goals of evidence-based medicine by facilitating the synthesis of information from several sources into a single comprehensive structure. The Stroke Prevention Policy Model (SPPM) performs this function for the clinical and policy questions that surround stroke prevention. This paper first describes the basic structure and functions of the SPPM, concentrating on the role of large databases (broadly defined as any database that contains many patients, regardless of study design) in providing the SPPM inputs. Next, recognizing that the use of modeling continues to be a source of some controversy in the medical community, it discusses the philosophical underpinnings of the SPPM. Finally, it discusses conclusions in the context of both stroke prevention and other complex medical decisions. We conclude that despite the difficulties in developing comprehensive models (for example, the length and complexity of model development and validation processes, the proprietary nature of data sources, and the necessity for developing new software), the benefits of such models exceed the costs of continuing to rely on more conventional methods. Although they should not replace the clinician in decision making, comprehensive models based on the best available evidence from large databases can support decision making in medicine.

Author and Article Information

From Duke University and the Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina; and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston University School of Medicine, and Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
Note: This article is one of a series of articles comprising an Annals of Internal Medicine supplement entitled "Measuring Quality, Outcomes, and Cost of Care Using Large Databases: The Sixth Regenstrief Conference." To see a complete list of the articles included in this supplement, please view its Table of Contents.
Grant Support: By grant from the Agency for Health Care and Research, contract #282-81-0028; Stroke Prevention Patient Outcome Research Team (PORT) National Institute of Health/Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, contract #NO1-HC-38038; and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, grant #2-RO1-NS-17950-16.
Requests for Reprints: David B. Matchar, MD, Center for Clinical Health Policy Research, Duke University, First Union Tower, Suite 230, 2200 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27705.
Current Author Addresses: Drs. Matchar, Matthews, and Hasselblad: Center for Clinical Health Policy Research, Duke University, First Union Tower, Suite 230, 2200 West Main Street, Durham, NC 27705.