Computers,Physicians,and the Diagnostic Decision-Making Process

Utilizing computer gaming techniques, a pilot experiment was conducted which located several possible parameters relating to degree of difficulty of diagnosis in internal medicine; private physicians served as subjects and the field of inquiry was limited to functional and organic diseases of the respiratory system. A second study was then conducted in which a digital computer served the function of providing objective feedback to the M.D. during diagnosis, indicating the number and names of diseases consistent with each acquisition of new information about the patient. Performance of the subjects under the latter condition indicated significant behavioral changes when compared with the previous study. Findings are interpreted in terms of the man–machine relationship and its importance to in-line computer applications of a diagnostic nature.