Risk score

<p>A risk score is a metric used in <a href="/facts/Statistics/DNPsKGYU">statistics</a>, <a href="/facts/Biostatistics/Sv5s38Kh">biostatistics</a>, <a href="/facts/Econometrics/7U52gzHt">econometrics</a> and related disciplines to stratify a population for targeted screening. It assigns scores to individuals based on risk factors; a higher score reflects higher risk.  The score reflects the level of <a href="/facts/Risk/tbBEDA0V">risk</a> in the presence of some <a href="/facts/Risk_factor/N0YTUyer">risk factors</a> (e.g. risk of mortality or disease in the presence of symptoms or genetic profile, risk financial loss considering credit and financial history, etc.).
</p><p>Risk scores are mainly designed to be: 
</p>
<ul><li>Simple to calculate: In simple cases, manual computing can be used to calculate a basic score (although <a href="/facts/QRISK/RW3YwF7x">some</a> scores use rely on more sophisticated or less transparent calculations that require a computer program).</li>
<li>Easily interpreted: The result of the calculation is a single number, with a higher score usually means higher risk. Furthermore, many scoring methods enforce some form of <a href="/facts/Monotonic_function/MjQK0YL2">monotonicity</a> along the measured risk factors to allow a straightforward interpretation of the score (e.g. risk of mortality only increases with age, risk of payment default only increase with the amount of total debt the customer has, etc.).</li>
<li>Actionable: Scores are designed around a set of possible actions that should be taken as a result of the calculated score. Effective score-based policies can be designed and executed by setting thresholds on the value of the score and associating them with escalating actions.</li></ul>

Risk score open-in-new

Risk score