A doctor’s diagnosis may be wrong. And, just like in the case of other industries, it sometimes is. The problem is, however, that in the case of healthcare, this topic is a taboo that most people tend to avoid like fire. This is a mistake. Although medicine requires precision, no doctor is an infallible oracle. Several years of studies, which are followed by long internships, are an unquestionably rigorous training process for anyone who would like to protect the lives and well-being of others. From the very onset of their careers, such people follow the Hippocratic oath and do everything in their power to help those in need, and, above all, do no harm. The fact that the outcomes of their actions are sometimes far from those intended is a result of inherent human weaknesses that no person can escape, i.e. the limited capacity regarding memorizing and processing information, as well as making biased decisions, and, occasionally, being guided by the wrong principles. In healthcare, this may lead to severe errors, the scale of which largely remain unknown.
ACCURACY BEYOND THE CAPABILITIES OF THE HUMAN BRAIN
We only ever rely on estimates: 1,500,000 people died worldwide due to an incorrect diagnosis or a complete lack thereof. A recent study by John Hopkins University suggests that every year, 250,000 people die due to medical errors in the United States alone. Other reports include figures reaching up to 440,000 deaths annually. As such, this is the third most common cause of death in the world, right after cancer and heart and circulatory system diseases. Nonetheless, it is a disproportionately rarely discussed issue. Back in the day, this topic was avoided since little could be done to improve the state of affairs, apart from introducing checklists and safety procedures.
Artificial intelligence has no limitations characteristic of the human brain. It can absorb infinite amounts of data, analyze and compare it meticulously, and draw conclusions based on the entirety of the available knowledge. More importantly, AI can do all of this with speed and precision that no human can. Machines can perform calculations while people can feel and think creatively. It is computers that should be given some of the competencies in regard to diagnosis and treatment, as they have access to the aggregate data concerning all 30,000 of the known diseases, whereas a typical doctor can only recognize up to 500 of them.
Refusing to use the best available methods which can save human lives is quite simply unethical. Similarly, it is just as immoral to sweep the problem of diagnostic and medical errors under the proverbial rug, especially at a time when we finally have the tools needed to reduce their frequency significantly.
Eric Topol M.D. a well-known cardiologist from Scripps Translational Research coined the term, {Precision Medicine), and it's the role in discovering new treatments with 'designer drugs' manufactured for individuals or groups with genetic disorders, or to use with inflammatory diseases.
AI (artificial intelligence is already at use in this process
A decade of digital medicine innovation
Precision Medicine. When Machines Become Smarter Than Doctors
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