The Goldman Algorithm

The Goldman Algorithm for Chest Pain

I have plenty of idle time while on interstate 20 between Augusta and Atlanta so I often listen to audiobooks. I was listening to Blink, the book by Malcom Gladwell, on the way home from class when I heard about the Goldman Algorithm. The author was using it as evidence that in certain occasions better decisions can be made from less information. Beyond this, the Goldman Algorithm is evidence that a simple well structured decision model can reach better result than experts. According to the book the algorithm yielded a 93% accuracy rate over a two year period while doctor’s diagnoses were accurate between 75-89% of the time. The more accurate diagnosis enabled hospitals to assign patients to the care unit that best fit their symptoms. This filtered those in the greatest need to the critical care unit more often, freed space in critical care units by reducing the number of patients that did not require that amount of attention, it increased efficiency of the ER, and reduced the overall cost of treatment.

Link to BUS650: the Goldman Algorithm is fundamentally a decision tree. On a larger scale it is an optimization model that reduces healthcare expense by assigning patients with chest pain to the treatment unit (often a constrained resource) that is best equipped to handle their symptoms.

Resource links

Link to Malcom Gladwell’s website:
•http://www.gladwell.com/index.html
Article on the algorithm:
•http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/417246