Center for Clinical Decision Making

We began as a collaboration between computer scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and physicians at Tufts Medical Center and Tufts Unviersity School of Medicine. Under the guidance of Drs. Steven Pauker and Jerome Kassirer, it was formally established within the Department of Medicine in 1980 to conduct research, teach, train physicians and provide consultations.

The clinical consultation services responds to requests from physcians who are uncertain as to the optimal management strategy for a given individual patient and provides advice based on literature review and formal decision analyisis explicitly weighing the risks and benefits of the alternatives. Typical consults involve patients with multiple comorbidities facing possible surgery, an invasive procedure or a medication, such as warfarin, for which the benefts of anticoagulation must be weighed against the risks of bleeding.

For more information about our training and fellowship programs or on the services provided by the Department of Clinical Decision Making, click here.