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Tech Helps, But Human Errors Still A Big Problem At Hospitals
from the a-little-more-automation-please... dept
We've had plenty of stories in the past about hospitals becoming more technologically sophisticated, and noting that the technology helps to prevent bad prescriptions by checking for dangerous conflicts and also forcing a doctor to be clear in the prescription (typing instead of scrawling). However, a new study at one of these high tech hospitals found that there were plenty of mishaps anyway, some of which caused patients to die. Of course, this doesn't mean the technology doesn't work (there doesn't seem to be a comparison against a non-tech hospital), but that humans are still a big part of the process. Even when computers make the right decision, hospital staff still has plenty of opportunities to muck things up.
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So can computers
We wouldn't want computers dispensing standard, cliche advice, when patients may have special needs that do not fit the mould.
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Re: So can computers
i've heard of a massachusetts based company that is trying to mine data to improve decision making - http://www.qcmetrix.com/
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Re: So can computers
Hehehe, they want to make conclusions without extensive consultations with doctors? Good luck. I'm analyzing data from a large heart study project, and we know better than to believe the data -- people cannot be 8,000 years old, for example. There are many other subtler issues that need to be clarified with the investigators on a regular basis. Without regular consultations, any conclusions from the data are worthless, or at best skewed. This kind of work won't be outsourced or automated easily.
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