The Role of Physicians in the Era of Predictive Analytics

Every day, more information becomes available about factors that affect the risk of a clinical event. Predictive analytics incorporate this information into prognostic models that estimate the likelihood of this event for an individual patient. The Framingham Heart Study pioneered this approach¹ and such estimates have become core elements of clinical care and guideline recommendations, such as the recent ACC/AHA guidelines for managing blood cholesterol for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease risk.² Advances in predictive analytics and precision medicine have and will continue to change the practice of medicine.