Decision analytic models should be seen as essential tools of evidence-based medicine. They provide a framework for integrating many data sources, evaluating the strength of evidence, testing assumptions and scenarios, exploring uncertainty, and ultimately informing decisions about the likely value of alternative strategies for improving health. Over the years, such models have helped challenge prevailing wisdom and have brought clarity to various health policy debates—underscoring, for example, that prevention programs usually do not save money and that very expensive technologies may sometimes provide good value for the money.
