How to use Model Estimated Controls

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are currently the current gold-standard for comparing the effectiveness of different treatments. In RCTs, patients are randomly assigned into groups to receive either an experimental treatment, or the control treatment. RCTs provide high-quality evidence which is useful to determine treatment efficacy.

MECs can be used to predict how a patient would perform if treated with the control treatment. This is counterfactual evidence generated by a statistical model. This evidence can be compared with the actual performance of patients when treated with the experimental treatment to determine the treatment with greater efficacy.