Effects of pruning of a decision-tree for the ear, nose, and throat realm in primary health care based on case-notes.
In the primary health care center of Mjölby a sample of case notes in the ear-nose- and-throat realm (N = 425) was computer processed using an inductive rule-based decision-tree generating program. As a result of incomplete information in the case-files, the decision trees were "noisy," e.g., had branches and leaves without meaning. This led to a need for "pruning." Various methods were tried. The effects of different methods of decision-tree generating and pruning are discussed. The choice of root argument and branching of the decision-trees suggested by the software was the most clinically applicable. The "statistic" approach to pruning gave the most compact and still most clinically relevant decision-tree. The pruned and edited decision trees are compared with a previously published preliminary essential data set for the ear-nose- and-throat realm in primary health care and then discussed as a possible decision support system for various primary health care groups in a practice setting.
Department of General Practice and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping, Sweden.
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af Klercker
D000465:Algorithms; D019090:Case Management; D003658:Decision Making, Computer-Assisted; D003663:Decision Trees; D005103:Expert Systems; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013548:Sweden