Data Visualization at the Individual Patient Level

Abstract

Although displays of clinical trial data in clinical research primarily focus on group level data, researchers often find themselves focusing on individual patients in a clinical trial. Data displays of individual patient data in clinical research are needed for many reasons, such as individual case review to understand potential outliers or important adverse events. When reviewing individual patient data, understanding how the individual is different from or similar to reference populations is very important. Without the correct context, individual data can be very difficult to interpret. Following good principles of graphics, we can build helpful displays that allow for faster and more accurate decision making.