IBM’s Watson to Replace Doctors…Never
So, how is IBM’s Watson doing? I have no idea because after the big hoopla of how great it was going to be I never heard another peep out of, well, anyone. Now I have heard some things and it isn’t great:
But three years after IBM began selling Watson to recommend the best cancer treatments to doctors around the world, a STAT investigation has found that the supercomputer isn’t living up to the lofty expectations IBM created for it. It is still struggling with the basic step of learning about different forms of cancer. Only a few dozen hospitals have adopted the system, which is a long way from IBM’s goal of establishing dominance in a multibillion-dollar market. And at foreign hospitals, physicians complained its advice is biased toward American patients and methods of care.
And there was this:
At its heart, Watson for Oncology uses the cloud-based supercomputer to digest massive amounts of data — from doctor’s notes to medical studies to clinical guidelines. But its treatment recommendations are not based on its own insights from these data. Instead, they are based exclusively on training by human overseers, who laboriously feed Watson information about how patients with specific characteristics should be treated.
Based on training by human overseers? Isn’t that like having a digital EMR but having to fax information to give to another provider who then scans it so it is digital again? Oh, yeah, we still do that.
This blog has talked about Watson before and I highly recommend you read these links:
- Computerized Medicine is No Solution by Steve Vaughn MD
- Watson, Come Here, We Need You by Aaron Levine MD
- Dr. Watson Bullsh%t Again
Someday, Watson may really be great but I still don’t think it will replace us. There are too many nuances in patient care that computers can’t pick up. But it does make great headlines for PR, doesn’t it?
To tell the truth, the myth of the robot-gizmo doctor is perhaps over a hundred years old. It is a trope synonymous with the romance of technology. Look at http://knowyourmeme.com/search?q=doctor+robot to find robot doctor memes and myths and where they flourish.
I am sorry that something awful has happened, James, but I do not understand your story. People clearly should not be beaten to death for seeking medical care, if that is what you are explaining. Can you describe any facts which might help us understand the situation?
A computer would not threaten a patient I don’t think.
I felt threatened by a Doctor at Centrastate.
As I explained in previous posts I went to the ER on September 8.
I went in about 830 am.
Late in the afternoon, when I thought I was about to be sent home, a Doctor I never saw that day came in the room and said that I need to be admitted to the hospital for possibly 2 nights and that “it isn’t like going to jail”.
I was very upset. I took that as a threat. That if I tried to leave I would be arrested ans go to jail.
What is was was robbery by extortion.
The whole experience , with only 1 night overnight, cost over 20,000 dollars.
AND TO TOP IT OFF I THINK THE DOCTOR WAS AN OUTSIDE DOCTOR THAT I WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF. I think this because I am getting a bill from a seperete company for him.
NJ Patients rights include
To receive a summary of your patient rights that includes the name and phone number of the hospital staff member whom you can ask questions or complain about any possible violation of your rights.
To be informed of the names and functions of any outside healthcare and educational institutions involved in your treatment. You may refuse to allow their participation.
Okay, James, we have heard your story over and over. No matter what blog you comment on it ends up being about your story. Feel free to post an intelligent response related EXACTLY to the content of the blog entry you comment on or you will be blocked from now on. Agreed? This is your last chance.