[R] Use of R in clinical trials

[Peter Dalgaard]

Frank E Harrell Jr wrote:
> Cody,
> 
> How amazing that SAS is still used to produce reports that reviewers 
> hate and that requires tedious low-level programming.  R + LaTeX has it 
> all over that approach IMHO.  We have used that combination very 
> successfully for several data and safety monitoring reporting tasks for 
> clinical trials for the pharmaceutical industry.
> 
> Frank

There is a point to it, though. One of my friends and colleagues in the 
business put it in one word: Mediocrity.

SAS does a mediocre job at analysing and reporting and data handling 
using a mediocre control language. But: It can be handled by mediocre 
programmers writing and modifying mediocre programs, and those people 
are more available and replaceable, maybe even cheaper. R/LaTeX may run 
circles around SAS in terms of capapilities, flexibility, and elegance, 
but it can also send a programmer who doesn't have the required skill 
set running around in circles.

-pd

> 
> Cody Hamilton wrote:
>> Dear all,
>>
>> There have been a variety of discussions on the R list regarding the 
>> use of R in clinical trials. The following post from the STATA list 
>> provides an interesting opinion regarding why SAS remains so popular 
>> in this arena: 
>> http://www.stata.com/statalist/archive/2008-01/msg00098.html
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> -Cody Hamilton
> 


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