"The robot will see you now"

[cronaldo7]

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This is a long article, but you don't need to read the whole thing to get the idea ..

http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/03/the-robot-will-see-you-now/309216/

I'm interested to see SDN's thoughts on the future role of the physician. How do you guys think technology like IBM'S Watson will affect medicine? How do you see the physician being impacted ?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I don't really trust the Atlantic after I saw an article saying they were replacing the orca whales at sea world with sharks

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[Awesome Sauceome]

However I shadowed some surgeons who talked about Watson and all that and at least they were confident it would never actually come to that for physicians. Not only because of the inability to have as qualified judgment as a human, but also for the fact that being a good doctor is more than just diagnosing.

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[darklabel]

However I shadowed some surgeons who talked about Watson and all that and at least they were confident it would never actually come to that for physicians. Not only because of the inability to have as qualified judgment as a human, but also for the fact that being a good doctor is more than just diagnosing.

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True and even for the rudimentary stuff (such as a sore throat), mid levels already provide a good enough role at reduced cost. Watson and such could definitely be an aid for physicians, but I doubt it will start replacing doctors outright.

Besides, would a hospital really open themselves up to such a liability since there's no one else to really blame for a wrong diagnoses?

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

However I shadowed some surgeons who talked about Watson and all that and at least they were confident it would never actually come to that for physicians. Not only because of the inability to have as qualified judgment as a human, but also for the fact that being a good doctor is more than just diagnosing.

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Don't be surprised as to what new generations of people consider normal. Imagine you can program an AI into robots you own. I would much prefer my robot giving me a physical and routine stuff at home than ever see primary care physicians.

Also imagine an on the spot emergency physician robot for 911. It would eventually be cheaper than paying doctors or paramedics. They would likely be more effective than sending paramedics and bringing them back to the hospital for all procedures.

The human physicians to exist will most likely be super specialists and serious stuff only.

 

[medickdb]

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

 

[guylewis]

I would be more afraid of AI and robots if i were a pharmacist. robots won't be able to understand human language and inter-individual minute variations for a long time. Probably not in our lifetimes, and that's why doctors will always be needed. but even if they did figure everything out, they would just make our work easier and we still get to be the professionals in the room with the legal liability to make the call on what to do in each medical situation, we just have a computer to help us out and make mistakes less likely to happen. autopilot was invented, but that didn't mean we fired all the airline pilots. and as a result of autopiloted planes, there has been a steep drop in the number of airline crashes that were usually caused by pilot error

 

[Starry]

The computer would also need some sort of lie detection for drug seekers and people who want antibiotics for their cold.
It would also need to be able to somehow adjust for illogical/wrong replies.

Case A:
"What's wrong?"
"My arm hurts."
"Which arm?"
"The right one."
- robot starts to operate on right arm. After the surgery.... -
"OH I MEANT MY LEFT ARM."

Case B:
"Do you have any problems with your heart?"
"No."
- computer completely glosses over the patient's blood pressure medication and history of cardiac surgeries -

Case C:
"What's wrong?"
"...it's...it's personal."
Link: http://i.imgur.com/wDtUoJl.png
- robot starts to steam from the intolerable amount of wtf -

Edit: Wow. The last sentence of the article. Burnnnnnnnn.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I think it's cool that we're bound to have robots assisting in all parts of medicine from diagnosis to treatment. Hell, I think it would be amazing if we have mini-lab robots who draw blood, preform x-rays, and do basic lab work including genetic screenings for what drugs work better for that person.
I guess primary care physicians might end up being programmers then tho. Haha

 

[Mad Jack]

Idiocracy is one step closer to being prophecy rather than satire. I'd quote the good Dr. Lexus, but SDN rules don't permit it.

 

[MJS4878]

The computer would also need some sort of lie detection for drug seekers and people who want antibiotics for their cold.
It would also need to be able to somehow adjust for illogical/wrong replies.

Case A:
"What's wrong?"
"My arm hurts."
"Which arm?"
"The right one."
- robot starts to operate on right arm. After the surgery.... -
"OH I MEANT MY LEFT ARM."

Case B:
"Do you have any problems with your heart?"
"No."
- computer completely glosses over the patient's blood pressure medication and history of cardiac surgeries -

Case C:
"What's wrong?"
"...it's...it's personal."
Link: http://i.imgur.com/wDtUoJl.png
- robot starts to steam from the intolerable amount of wtf -

Edit: Wow. The last sentence of the article. Burnnnnnnnn.

What book is that from ?!

 

[Starry]

What book is that from ?!

It's from Emergency: True Stories from the Nation's ERs by Mark Brown.