Can Computers Outwork Doctors?
The notion that a computer can replace some of the functions of a human being has been explored in popular culture multiple times, but Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is now suggesting that an Internet-based questionnaire whose data is automatically aggregated is better at obtaining data from patients than actual doctors.
That's the conclusion of a new study conducted by the Los Angeles-based hospital, which noted that such questionnaires can do a better job of obtaining, aggregating and presenting information to gastroenterologists.
The study focused on information gathering for 75 gastroenterology patients. A cohort of these patients provided information about their medical condition in a medical office, while another group used a website called My GI Health to fill out the relevant portions of a 300-question form regarding the functioning of their digestive systems. Typically, in both cases it took about 15 minutes to provide the appropiate answers, according to Brennan Spiegel, M.D., director of Cedars-Sinai's health services research division and one of the lead authors of the study.
The computer-based questionnaire used a special algorithm to generate a narrative about the patient's complaint and condition after it had been filled in. The physicians in the other cohort either typed or dictated the information into an electronic health record system.
The completed forms were then forwarded to another group of physicians who were told they were auditing the quality of reports generated by gastroenterology clinics. They were not informed as to how the reported had been generated.
Those physicians concluded that the computer-generated reports were “better organized, more complete, succinct, comprehensive and useful,” according to a statement issued by Cedars-Sinai.
“The computer-generated narratives were of higher quality overall,” said Christopher V. Almario, M.D., a Cedars-Sinai-based gastroenterology fellow and a lead author of the study, which was published in the most recent edition of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
Researchers determined that while questionnaires filled out by the patients in both cohorts contained some information gaps, those working directly with the physicians tended to hesitate on providing specifics on matters that can be considered highly sensitive, such as the frequency of bowel movements.
“When it comes to sensitive or potentially embarrassing subjects, it seems the patients were more willing to provide complete answers using the Internet-based form rather than when discussing it directly with their doctor,” Spiegel said.
Spiegel added that patients were also less likely to be distracted when filling out a form on a computer in a familiar environment such as their home, which means they were also more likely to give complete answers. However, that did not mean that specialty physicians such as gastroenterolgists could be replaced by computers.
“Our results suggest that computers can help clinicians focus on what they do best – practicing the distinctly human art of medicine,” Spiegel said.
