Medicine on Verge of Software Revolution
Stuff (NZ) (08/11/08) Pullar-Strecker, Tom
The health care industry will soon be revolutionized by computerized clinical decision support tools capable of advising doctors and patients on diagnoses and treatments, predicts a new Datamonitor report. Datamonitor says the culture of the medical profession is the largest hurdle hindering the adoption of new technology, and the concept that a computer could be more accurate than a physician is difficult for providers to accept, despite numerous studies that have shown that algorithms and computers outperform most doctors on some tasks. "Critics of clinical decision support maintain a computer cannot understand the nuances of medicine even when the technologies have been shown to improve efficiencies and outcomes," says Datamonitor's Christine Chang. "While a fundamental shift in culture is not impossible, it will take time as well as an increase in provider education and pressure from patients, payers, and 'C-level' hospital executives." Datamonitor says such tools are being included as add-ons to electronic health record software, which has gained widespread adoption. However, Chang says that without clinical decision support, electronic health records are little more than a compilation of paper records in an electronic format. The software can include tools used to make reference materials available online, programs that uses data-mining tools and artificial intelligence to analyze patient information, and tools that recommend particular treatments or issue alerts.
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