Harnessing the power of intelligent machines to enhance primary care.

Abstract

Mr Jones sits down in front of you and removes from his bag a sheaf of printed web pages. Trying to appear composed, you studiously ignore the stack of papers and look straight at him. ‘How can I help you today? ’ > ‘Well, doctor, it’s just that I was looking on the internet and they suggested I come in and see you …’ [he looks bashful] ‘… it’s just I’ve been having difficulty swallowing and the weight’s been dropping off me. The internet suggested it might be …’ [he hesitates] ‘… something nasty.’ Two weeks later you open your correspondence. This time, the internet was right. Searching the internet for health advice is undoubtedly fraught with potential complications as well as rewards, but have you ever stopped to think about the technology behind these searches and what other implications it might have for your practice? Only 9% of the UK population have heard of machine learning, but 89% recognise at least one of its uses.1 From fraud detection on your credit card to voice recognition software such as Siri, we are surrounded by intelligent machines. Each time a search term is entered into Google it uses complex algorithms to determine the most appropriate results. These rules are not programmed explicitly by humans but developed iteratively over time by the machine itself. The machine is learning from our behaviour — which results we choose to click on, how long we stay on an individual page — and is constantly refining its own search algorithms as a …