Glossary
Prospective study
A study that sets its plan in advance and then follows people or cases forward in time.
In a prospective study, researchers define what they will measure and then collect data as events unfold, for example by using an AI tool on new patients as they arrive and tracking what happens to them.
Prospective studies test a tool under conditions closer to real use, including messy data and real decisions, and reduce the risk of researchers fitting the analysis to results they have already seen.
A prospective study is not automatically a randomized trial. Without a comparison group assigned by chance, it may still be unclear whether the tool caused any improvement.
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