There are many different types and uses for decision support
systems (DSS). A decision support system
is a computer-based information system that supports business or organizational
decision-making which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in
advance. [1] The focus of my article will be describing an institutional DSS
software that was tested in hospitals called COMPETE III and discussing the
complexities of having computer applications make medical decisions. Compete III was a real-time Clinical Data
Repository (CDR) that consolidates data from a variety of clinical sources such
as EMR and paper, and was developed to present a unified patient data view. This
software includes “The Vascular Tracker” which gave the physician an
at-a-glance updated, color-coded system highlighting the urgency of addressing
each risk factor of a patient. [2]
The COMPETE III program accessed the patient’s medical
history and intelligently guessed the risk factors of various medical
conditions. I think having a computer program suggesting medical advice is a great
idea, and I would definitely consider its suggestions. However, I don’t think
that computers are intelligent enough yet to make highly accurate medical
predictions. There are too many variables involved like the patient’s complete
medical history and how that compares to other patients. This is a perfect example of “unstructured problems” which are complex
problems in which the relationships among the pieces of data are not always
clear, and the data is in a variety of formats. [3] Despite that complexity,
the previous version of COMPETE III cost $483,699 to design and implement, and it targeted patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Over a one year period the software helped decrease patients’ risk of amputation
by 14%, stroke by 12%, renal failure by 9%, and heart failure by 5%. [4] This
is an obvious success and definitely justifies the cost in my opinion, and the
making of COMPETE IV is currently being discussed.
After watching IBM’s supercomputer Watson beat the best Jeopardy
players in the world, people were discussing its practical applications. Watson is so unique because it’s by far the
best artificial intelligence computer system capable of answering questions
posed in natural language with a hardcore cost of about $3 million. [5] IBM has
announced that it will use Watson to improve patient care through the use of
evidence-based medicine, which is designed to standardize patient treatments by
identifying proven best practices such as suggesting an aspirin to someone leaving
the hospital who suffered a heart attack. [6] Watson would fit in perfectly
with any DSS, and would greatly enhance COMPETE IV or make it completely
obsolete.
In conclusion, COMPETE III is a great example of a decision
support system (DSS) being used in the medical industry, and it has been
successful in suggesting medical advice despite the complexities of making such
a program.
Sources:
3.
Page 290 of the Book
6.
https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219937/IBM_s_Watson_supercomputer_to_diagnose_patients
No comments:
Post a Comment