[ratpik]

Atul Gawande's checklist manifesto emphasizes the need for processes while solving complex problems like surgery. A doctor can forget to wash his hand while a machine cannot forget. So that is a place where computer assisted techniques make sense just like the case of flying a plane where the autopilot can take care of most things except when things go wrong and humans have to take over. I don't think anyone with adequate experience in healthcare and technology would make wild claims about replacing doctors with machines. There are plenty of places where machines can aid doctors and simplify processes at scales thereby letting doctors focus on more complex things. That's how the automobile industry evolved and so will healthcare. But doctor's will always be needed. They would just be doing different things or existing things in a different way.

There are plenty of people in this part of the world (Eg. India) where people are just getting to the point of trusting a ATM machine with cash withdrawal. Assuming machines become better than doctors at asking patients the right kind of questions, knowing when they are lying or just not able to communicate their problem, there is still a significant barrier and probably a generation of cultural changes that would make it acceptable to have a machine as your primary care giver. Diagnostics have been using complex technology for a while, so there is no doubt about technology improving the decision making process. However diagnosis is just one and probably a small part of the healthcare process. Actually improving the patients health requires following a treatment plan and adherence to lifestyle and medical processes. Most people just fail to comply due to behavioral reasons. This is where technology and so call 'AI' can play a role. By understanding individual human behavior patterns and guiding people to do small changes that would improve their health outcomes. We have been working on fixing this problem for people with chronic conditions like diabetes at http://www.janacare.com.