Theory 46/Precision & Information/Clinical decisions
Thresholds Follow Test Precision
The claim
The optimal clinical decision threshold is set by the ratio of test precision to the cost of a missed diagnosis, not by the test's sensitivity alone.
01Mechanism
A less precise test requires a more conservative threshold to keep the miss rate acceptable; the threshold and precision are linked.
02Prediction
Thresholds should shift with precision across assays.
03Refutation
Thresholds independent of precision would remove the link.