Physicians won’t be surprised to learn that their experience and knowledge results in accurate diagnoses more than twice as often as computer algorithms. The results were published in a first of its kind study comparing human and computer diagnoses, originally published October 10, 2016 in JAMA Internal Medicine. The key takeaways: physicians who participated in the study achieved diagnostic accuracy 72 percent of the time compared to just 34 percent of the time recorded for digital devices. This difference was particularly noticeable when diagnosing severe and unusual conditions.
An overview can be found at HealthData Management. The full study is available on The JAMA Network, available to accountholders only. Read it here.
However, the role of technology in medicine continues to expand, and patients express a desire for more, not less, use of it on platforms such as electronic patient portals or as a way to gain immediate access to lab test results.
According to a recent Medscape report titled “Physician and Patient Attitudes Toward Technology in Medicine,” 41 percent of patients want to use technology for lab results access compared to only 18 percent of physicians. Also important to note: 61 percent of patients believe using an electronic patient portal improves their relationships with their physicians, while only 49 percent of physicians perceive the same benefit.
Physicians, what are your thoughts on these findings? Do you think electronic patient portals improve your relationships with your patients? Share your perspective with us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook. We want to hear from you!