Toward a new paradigm of health care: Artificial intelligence and medical management

Abstract

The health care system in many societies is facing a profound crisis. Confronted by financial, legal and cultural pressures, the traditional practice of medicine is falling progressively behind the expectations of an information-intensive society and its skilled professions. A new health care system which is more cost-effective, reliable and humanistic is actively sought. Computer technology provides new tools to assist physicians and enhance communication with patients; it sets the stage for a revolution in values and methods in the profession. Small systems like problem-knowledge couplers will proliferate rapidly and link doctors and databases. They will permit more exhaustive diagnostic workups and presentations of all therapeutic choices. More complex software like expert systems require more development before becoming widely available, but they will provide increasingly sophisticated services responsive to specific demands. With these systems, the knowledge of the best experts can be brought to bear on each instance of a health problem. Medical management could be completely transformed with a shift of primary responsibility from the once-omnipotent doctor to the fully informed patient.