Should We Replace Consulting Doctors With Software?
Question:
Nurses would provide the medications if necessary and specialized surgeons would keep their position.
Since doctors are mostly used for advice and tests, then this part we don't need doctors for. Software could provide the advice and interpret the test results and nurses could administer medication and perform the tests.
That way, people would have more power over their own health and would not need the doctor's permission to know what's going on. Also, they would not keep a compromising record on you either. Some medical records are even worse than a criminal record.
Answer:
OMG! I have been thinking about the same thing! Unfortunately, I have had to encounter a number of these rude arrogant doctors.
Anyways, my idea for a software doctor works similar to yours but with a web cam where there is a data base of pics in the software and once the computer has a pic of your rash on your arm etc, it scans it's database for a match.
The less dealings with doctors the better as a jerk of a doctor can do more harm than good to a sick patient.
Oh and I should clarify, I mean using the software as a way of empowering the patient and for simple stuff..we can't replace doctors completely but as a means to faster diagnosis and less running around to ignorant doctors , it would be really useful!
not until we have discovered a little more about the human body and how its mechanisms work. A little more research in disease treatment and artificial organs would be nice. Also, neural inserts that support an expanded memory would be important so that the Doc-AI you are connected to can read your inserts to verify your identity and pull up medical records from the Government-net or whatever database is at its disposal. Then it would be able to diagnose you properly and stuff. With direct access to you it would also be able to run a diagnostic by using your onboard array (would be located in your neural inserts or processor unit or whatever). That would have to be located really close to the brain stem, base of the neck, near the spine somewhere. We would also have to learn how to interpret the brains neural signals as fast as the brain can, and have onboard processing power capable of translating those signals into diagnostic statistics. And such a network of humans wouldnt just help the medical field... combat.. neural hacking.. building AI's, Etc...
Not replace but augment
You're onto it guy.
It's already happening online and will probably be an exploding industry in years to come although... software obviously will not ever replace the human element of medical care. Mostly, medical analysis software will be applied for preventive or pre-screening measures.
Misuse could arise from different bad people-some would give lower prices for their programs,but worse advices.
I think it is possible only in the area of advices.Tests still can't be done on line...except if we had money enough to buy at least a portable blood-analyzer to have it at home.Still,many tests require so sofisticated medical equipment and professionals working on it,that we couldn't possibly do it at home.
And we would of course need doctors to give us emergency medical help and the CPR...So this would be only good for not really ill people.
im sorry that you missed my point. I was pointing out that you could replace someone with a job of oh lets say a mcdonalds employee with a robot but not a doctor. usually people get the vibes that they give off so maybe the problem maybe YOU not the doctors. and I dont mind your input about my bike trip thanks for commenting. by the way AI has yet to hit the point where it is feasible for your ideas to become fact. also the situation with you having access to your medical records and knowing and having input on your care is much better than it used to be when doctors didnt have to have your consent to do anything they wanted. I am sorry that you have not enjoyed your medical care but, people like you are going to make medicine better. People with your beliefs should do something positive in the field instead of wasting the vast amount of energy and power to hold such strong feelings that you have.
Have A Nice Day
PS I hope my answer gets voted as the best.
HE HE
Sure, there are all kinds of ways to reduce the cost of health care. What about putting in stitches? You may want a doctor to say, "This guy needs stitches," but do you really need to go to college for 8 years to learn how to sew? Of course not. Why not have some $15-20/hr shmoe be the one to put in the stitches? All such routine, simple, procedures should be delegated to low-wage workers.
Dude, computers and software cannot solve everything
The artificial intelligence , is only as vast as that of backend database coupled with feedback. but minus the commonsense.
YUP
The doctors have a multi million dollar program that some company is flogging that asks " how are you feeling? , how are you eating? Are you dizzy? etc. and then gives the doctor the diagnosis...
you must be kidding.
A good software program, free- online would be better.
It is happening, (online help) but the multi million dollar MEDICAL ASSOCIATIONS
are lobbying with their lawyers and millions to make certain that
only they can " DIAGNOSE". ( hard cold medicine, they say,
not witchcraft or herbals or holistics ). Yet, when you go to a doctor, where is the hard cold scientific medicine ? - are you feeling happy? are you eating well? etc. it is guessology that a computer program can do ! ! At least a computer program won't be in a grumpy mood, or drunk from the golf party the night before etc.
When you come out of a doctor's office with a prescription for a deadly man made patented, copywrited, registered, drug, made in a chemical vat in a multi billion dollar industrial complex ,
name one single " hard, cold, scientific medical laboratory result"
that the doctor tested you with, in the office ( forget the blood pressure,/ temperature jollies - you can buy more accurate equipement on eBay ).
Give me the computer program any day...
You can read the terror in minds of the medical practitioners
above when they tell you how horrible a software program would be - terror of loosing their monopoly on GUESSING...
what would be the difference?? They both have errors!
I think there could easily be software to do the same thing Dr.'s do. They consider your symptoms and sometimes refer to a book for diagnoses and perscriptions. I say, "why not?"
First of all it is our right to know what is going on with our body. A doctor is NOT permitted, by law, to keep that information from us. And, no, I disagree to have this software replace doctors. A doctor is a person that can read things that a computer will never be able to. Should this software be available, yes, but not as a replacement of a human being. And if you are dissatisfied with a doctors attitude you have every right to discontinue service with him/her and move on to another one.
No I have a doctor and a Orthopedic surgeon I trust my life with. My doctors and the hospital I use, Northwestern in Chicago is the best. I would not trade them for anything. I can call my Dr's nurses and if need be my Dr, especially the orthopedic doctor will call me back and discuss it with me. When I have this type of relationship with such a good team, why trade these live people for
a software doctor. Nope would not do it here.
There's no way that a pc can take the place of a consulting doctor. There are problems that a doctor has to actually see or feel and a pc cannot do that. I had a medical problem recently that took 2 md's, x-rays, mri and 2 specialists before they could figure out what it was. Can you imagine if I only had a pc to go to? It would never work. It's great that we have online forums to look at to get an idea of what we are experiencing but to get rid of them altogether could be disasterous.
No.
I understand what you're saying and to an extent I agree. But generally, we are not trained to recognize what certain symptoms of certain ailments are and whether or not what we THINK is the problem could be that or something else. Doctors are trained to recognize and judge based on a *hoepfully* extensive knowledge and a wealth of resources. Just because a computer can tell you if you have sore throat or not, doesn't mean that it can recognize it as simply that or if it could be something worse like strep. Computers are not living things and though we may think they are "intelligent" they are programmed to do things or react a certain way- i.e.- they cannot think on their own- no free will.
What kind of crack are YOU SMOKING?! Witness what happened when NASA wanted to save some money on something as small and seemingly insignificant as O-rings! I'm sorry, but you JUST DON'T eliminate the human factor when it comes to specialized medicine and saving lives. Do you really think that the practice of medicine is that uncomplicated?! If you do, I don't want you ANYWHERE NEAR a hospital's board of directors, or responsible for the life of one of MY FAMILY!! As one bright person here answered, you do it to augment treatment, but NOT TO REPLACE IT!!
NO!
Anyone who would consider this idea has obviously had no medical training. I deal with "web-md" patients everyday that have no clue how to interpret the information they have gotten off the internet. They are convinced they have whatever diagnosis the computer has given them, in spite of the fact they have typed in the most general of symptoms: nausea, headache, dizziness, etc. And most diseases are a compiling of information, not one lab test. And one lab test may need to be repeated to truly evaluate its signifigance. How is a computer going to view x-rays or other diagnostic imaging?
The dinner I ate was cooked by a person; how much more important is interacting with a person when talking about your health?
Well maybe the software can raplace bad and stupid doctors. Bad and stupid doctors are a health risk. But for really good doctors, perhaps such software can supplement and complement whatever it is the doctor can do for us. That ought to take a load off the doctor's mind.
But then, what comes to mind is, how good is the software? Typo's can be a health risk too. A misplaced dot or code error can be hazardous to your health.
So let each one complement each other, after all 2 heads are better than one. The head of a doctor and the head of the technoguy.
You have the right to access your medical records. The problem is most folks do not know the right questions to ask. Also even if you know a lot of medical stuff, you can still be blindsided by an unusual circumstance. For medical conditions, I firmly believe that you have to take charge of your own medical treatment. The best advice I can offer would be to ask questions until you get the right answer. A Dr. should also not get upset if you feel compelled to get a professional second opinion ( I am talking about the stuff that could be terminal here). As for medical software. Your answer will probably be expressed in a % of how it is related to your condition, just like the answers to queries in a search engine. For an answer with only 5% relevance, wouldn't you like a real (granted fallible) person telling you if this condition applies to you. Especially if the condition will result in a permanent hard drive failure (terminal condition)
Absolutely. Although, there is still a long way to go before doctors can be replaced completely. But why stop with doctors? Let's replace the villains in the legal system too. Imagine having judges, lawyers and juries that dispensed justice based solely on the facts presented and didn't let human emotion, the meaningless needs of the herd, affect their judgement at all. When you think about it, there are so many professions that could be replaced with machines, so that we humans can have more spare time to drink, smoke, do drugs, screw, download porn, jerk off, commit acts of indecency, molest children, be racist bigots, preach a corrupted religion...and eventually evolve backwards.
Replacing humans with machines is NOT the answer.
I agree with you. Most of the time I go online anyway and look up virtual docs mostly for alternative therapies. Doctors make you wait 2 hours in the cold lobby for a 5 minute "evalutation/assessment" which the meds or diagnosis is wrong anyway. One day we will be assessed by our home computers. At least they will be accurate 90% of the time instead of doctors who are accurate 30% of the time. Plus docs are driven by pharmecudical companies to keep drugging us or surgeons who make money operating us for no reason other than to make $$$. My dad had diabetes and they amputated his leg up to his knee. Later we found out that that procedure was not neccessary. Ughh. My dad died 2003 from heart failure. The medical profession is very insensitive and unfair.
Medical doctors have undergone thorough training in their lives, so much so that they deserve our utmost respect and consideration over the profession they've chosen - to keep us all in healthy disposition.
Replacing one aspect of them, such as consultation, with a software accessible over the internet, simply dismisses the idea of obtaining and/or establishing a "human" communication, thereby lowering our capabilities to be what we are now -- HUMANS.
For the sake of convenience, we have practically resorted to everything technological, from playing xbox with real life simulation images, to the convenience of securing money 24/7. There are even robotics now that attend to our whimsical demand for companionship at certain levels.
It is true that modern technology decreases error in every aspect of our lives where it is applied, from the operating rooms of a prestigious hospital, to the profiles of employees that have tendencies to be corporate psychopaths.
It improves some aspect of our lives so that we get to perform the usual tasks that we do.
Yet through all this, we have suddenly become dependent on technology as if our human existence is now dependent on chips and fiber optics within the next millenia.
Races before us have had longer mortality rates because they had put through good use the nature that is within their reach. From the food they eat, to the very basic tool of communication they applied - talking with each other.
As it is, I am in awe with what technology can do to our lives, just as I am sharing my thoughts right now on this question. But the imperative thought that I would like to reinforce is that, not even technology can suffice for the tiniest emotion transmitted by means of saying "hey, how are you doing?", or "have you had a good sleep?"
Techonology just simply lacks emotion right now, and until then, I would still prefer walking down the nearest clinic to see my dentist for a consultation.
Who knows, in the middle of my trip to my dentist, I could stumble upon a long-time friend whom I haven't seen for the longest time, or ask the store owner how business is going on for him. Then life would suddenly become bright again. Too idealistic? nah.it's just me being a human.
in the near future it is possible but it will be limited to common illnesses. i do not see how they can come up with the cure for the bird flu or aids for that matter. the computer is only fed with the program done by imperfect humans so how can it be more functional than us.
not all diagnosis can be made just machines.
how can the software differentiate between someone saying "i hurt my leg" and "my leg hurt very much"? how can a software measure the intensity of the pain? is the software gonna ask something like "what is the intensity, 1-10, of your pain (1 being least pain and 10 being most pain)?" or "where specificly is the pain coming from? (state measurements from the nearest body parts, ex: 12.5cm from the neck going south)"
there are just some things that are better of done by a human being..
my suggestion is: a special job is needed to give proper diagnosis before it is consulted with a doctor. that way doctors time are not wasted on people who only come to see doctors out of normal flu..this person will classify each case and send them of to respective doctors or just take the medicine at the pharmacist. of course this person need some of the qualification of a doctor. maybe just the identification of diseases but not the curing part. they give diagnosis and advice but does not perform medical treatment..
anyway, its just that i think most doctors work so hard during the 5 yrs(average) studying in med school just to treat simple flu cases that can just be treated with some medication that can be obtained at the local pharmacy
it sounds good, but a program cant actually see where the problem
I think that the human ability to analyse and feel, together with what you may call a sixth sense, cannot be replaced by any software.
And with all the information being sent and processed by computers it would be even easier to create and use (and abuse) compromising health records.
No! You might not get the right diagnosis if you really do have a medical problem. Plus, lots of people would abuse the system and fake illness for prescriptions they didn't really need and may even be misdiagnosed. That and silly teenagers go on-line and enter random stuff on medical help sites. I don't think there would be enough trust on either side of the system to work. I think it's a little too idealistic.
To an extent, I agree with you. I have had some experiences with doctors that left me very unenthusiastic about the medical profession. However, I would like to say that I've had excellent experiences as well. i do like the idea of diagnostic software, but you still need the human element. A machine can go through the variables, and it can calculate what data it is given, but it can't see the patient, talk to the patient and gain subjective insights too. Sometimes doctors determine a serious illness or disease because of "hunches" or ideas that allow them to follow a different train of thought than they normally would have.
I just think we shouldn't take the human element out of the doctor...or did they already beat us to that? LOL
In this day and age information found on the internet is extremely helpful if not necessary. The fact is computers will never replace the expertise of a highly trained physician, but having medical knowledge on hand at all times can only yield positive results.
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