New Medicine… new medics?

An article in MIT Tech Review called “The artificially intelligent doctor will hear you now” looks at new non-human approaches to diagnosing illness. It comes at a time when interest is growing in using robots to carry out surgery, further challenging the traditional role of doctors and surgeons in looking after our health.

No, we’re not talking here about machines replacing medics, but the need to redefine medicine to benefit from all that technology has to offer, as well as for medical practitioners to learn new skills, and possibly even the creation of new types of specialists who may never spill blood, or perhaps even touch a patient. Many of these technologies have been criticized as too expensive, too likely to break down, or simply for reducing the role of a doctor’s judgment, but common sense suggests that sooner or later, we’re going to come across them at some time.

With more than 10,000 human pathologies already catalogued, we need to accept that a doctor, however experienced or well-trained, will only know about relatively few of them. It’s important that doctors get their heads round the move from diagnostic models based on intuition toward those that use artificial intelligence, even if the latter is not available or properly developed yet. As in other sectors, and health is one that affects us all, overcoming cultural barriers is more important than getting past technical obstacles.

Robots have been used in surgical operations now for many years. These are systems that allow for less intrusive access to certain parts of the body, with surgeons carrying out operations via a computer screen, and that can give the impression of requiring the skills of a videogamer over those of a doctor. What’s more, such operations can be carried out from the other side of the world.

Robots not only perform their functions with greater precision than humans (their hands don’t shake, they don’t get tired, etc), but they can deliver treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy on a scale and proximity that would be unimaginable for humans. If we add to the equation monitorization, apps, genetic tests, or new devices to analyze bodily fluids or to measure vital signs, all of which are immediately recorded and processed digitally, then it’s pretty clear that medicine is already changing rapidly, and that it will change it further, requiring medical schools to implement changes in their teaching methods, as well as for patients to come to terms with new approaches to healing.

With a few notable exceptions, the medical community is not generally doing much to drive technological change in its profession. In which case, are we talking about the need for new doctors, with a different mindset? Can the current generation manage the transition and develop new skills? How is society going to handle changes that will not only be more expensive, but that will require us to come to terms with system wherein we are required to accept a much more preventative, pro-active approach to health?

Can we, should we, or do we want to slow down this transition?

(En español, aquí)