An annotated bibliography of decision analytic applications to health care

This paper describes 110 applications of decision analysis to health care. Each paper is characterized according to the particular problem it addresses and the methods employed in the application. These applications span 15 years of study and are reported in a widely dispersed literature. Nearly half of the published articles appear in journals with a medical audience and more than 25% of the studies remain unpublished. The major areas of application identified in this review have been the evaluation of alternatives in treatment and health policy planning. Studies discussing conceptual issues in the application of decision analysis represent a substantial portion of those identified. Almost equal numbers of applications involve the use of single and multiattribute utilities in scaling decision outcomes and relatively few apply to group utilities. General discussions of decision analysis methods and applications focused on probability assessments/analyses represent the other major categories of studies cited.