Healthcare Delivery via Supercomputer

Wow, so instead of an ambulance the patients will be taken to a hospital by a space shuttle? And for an injection ( a "shot") it will be necessary to get connected to the C.I.A.? What is it with those scientists, this is the way to ensure empoyment? Oh, please...!

Healthcare is not about providing employment, it is about providing the most accurate and upto date health care possible. I see it as a great idea provided that the "decision making" referred to is done entirely by the doctor and not by Watson.

In most fields today the arrival of new information is rapidly outstripping the worker's ability to keep up. Some type of information filter or distilation is going to be required if humans are to remain as the final arbitrator of what actions are to be taken based on all that information. Healthcare might not be the best place to test a system like this due to the potentially fatal consequences of an error. But on the other hand it is a field where the new information is coming at a very high rate.

This could be the first step towards the emergency medical hologram as seen on Starship Voyageur?

"What is the nature of the medical emergency?"

Computers have a useful place in medical diagnostics. There is an Artificial Intelligence system called Caduceus that was developed in Pittsburg (started in 1970's, finished in late 1980's). It is aimed at internal medicine and the diagnosis of blood related diseases. It can diagnose up to 1,000 different diseases, but of course is only suggesting the results to a using physician. The power of this approach is that a human will consider about five possible results and go with the most likely, whereas a computer can and will consider all possible solutions (if CPU time is available!), and therefor may suggest a solution that the human overlooked.

Seems to me that Watson would do even better with some sensors and test capabilities, which would provide a direct basis for diagnostic decisions.

Speech recognition is only helpful if the 'speech' has the right content. There is no standard among patients for describing their symptoms. The doctor on the other hand will interpret what the patient says and describe it in specific terms. If there is an unintentional - or deliberate - bias, Watson's ability to help may be limited.

Pease get the Language right !

Doctors and most Nurses attend Medical School.

Insurance Companys TEACH Health Care.

Take this pill and go away, Come back and get another pill if that does not work IS Health Care.

Americans NOW only get real Medical Care when they come to the ER unless they are very wealthy.

That is why the USA is ONLY Number One in Emergency Medical Care because we get Health Case helping us live with our Illnesses until we are faced with death and end up in the ER where we get Medical Care IF we have descent Insurance without that Insurance we still get Health Care in the ER too .