Impact of a system of computer-assisted diagnosis. Initial evaluation of the hospitalized patient
J. R. Wexler, P. T. Swender, W. W. Tunnessen Jr and F. A. Oski
Computer assisted diagnosis was evaluated for its ability to hasten the
time to initial diagnosis and reduce laboratory studies. The time to
diagnosis averaged 2.8 days for a control group and 1.9 days for the group
in which the computer printout was made available. In a small group in whom
the diagnosis was not established until after 48 hours, there was a further
trend to reduction in number of days to diagnosis and irrelevant laboratory
studies. The ability of the computer to include the final diagnosis in the
initial list of differential diagnoses remained unchanged for patients
whose conditions were diagnosed before or after 48 hours, while the
physicians' ability decreased. In a university hospital setting,
computer-assisted diagnosis may be most beneficial for patients whose
conditions have not been diagnosed within 48 hours of admission.
