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by tellak
2625 days ago
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> Doctors noticing that Watson is wrong is expected. Well as a doctor if I’m still ultimately responsible then nothing has fundamentally changed, this is just another tool, possibly one I’ll be forced to use by someone with not one day of medical training. And medicine in the US is in a precarious position. Software engineers are generally not licensed, and they’re not sued (it’s virtually unheard of). It’s different for doctors. There’s a complex dynamic of removing autonomy from providers to ostensibly improve outcomes (and revenue cycle) while also still holding those same personally liable. So much of what I do is indirectly dictated by wonks in IT and billing, but they have virtually no liability. And one wonders why burnout in medicine continues climbing with no end. |
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If your stethoscope fails and you mistakenly pronounce the patient dead because of that, who is responsible? Do you blame the stethoscope salesman for claiming it's an accurate medical instrument that you never need to second-guess? Do you stop using stethoscopes altogether because they're "just another tool"?
If your x-ray machine fails and you say the patient's leg isn't broken because of that, who is responsible? It's "just another tool", do you stop using x-ray machines?
If your physician's assistant measures the patient's blood pressure wrong and you never double check their work, do you fire all of your PAs? And go back to seeing every patient for every procedure yourself?
Everything you have is "just another tool" and as with any tool, it's up to the human doctor to interpret the output. The idea is tools make you faster and more accurate, but everyone knows tools fail so you need to be able to double check their work. If the tool is consistently inaccurate, sure, throw it away. But if your argument is "if the tool can't completely replace me it's worthless" I think you're selling yourself a little short there.
Of course you're ultimately responsible. Your stethoscope didn't go to college for 8 years, it's just there to make your job easier.