Medical expert systems are a type of artificial intelligence accessed through computer software that helps medical professionals, such as hospital doctors, nurses, and general practitioners, make informed decisions about patient care. These systems help clinicians assess, diagnose, and ultimately treat patients, and are particularly useful for solving problems in areas in which the clinician is not an expert. For example, a patient may show signs of an infection to the doctor, who may suspect a blood-related infection but requires more information from a trusted knowledge base: the online medical expert system. Uses for medical expert systems could include determining whether a patient should leave the GP's office and go to the hospital, prioritizing in a triage situation, and preventing doctors from getting stuck in diagnostic habits.
When a doctor uses a medical expert system, they typically enter their patients' symptoms directly into the program's user interface and receive potential diagnoses in return. Those diagnoses are created in the software development stages, in consultation with experts in various medical ailments, and then stored in the program's massive database by the software developer. The crux of medical expert systems is the advice and information they store from elite medical professionals, whose expertise provides the foundation for the software's knowledge base. Through these systems, leading experts in their fields can share their insights about patient care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Like other expert system applications, medical expert systems may be available online, with password protections, or through a private network or intranet, such as a hospital might have.
Medical expert systems can help hospitals and doctors' offices improve quality of care, reduce costs, and help with compliance issues mandated by the government or insurance companies. Traditionally, doctors have treated patients by presenting a diagnosis and then determining whether the symptoms fit that diagnosis. Medical expert systems handle the situation in reverse: given the symptoms presented, they determine what illnesses the patient might have. Proponents suggest that it is a more intuitive way to make an accurate diagnosis, sometimes referring to the traditional way as "backwards."
A limitation of expert medical systems is that they seem to work more effectively in diagnosing patients who have a primary symptom. Another is that they often rely on a physical exam. Therefore, for the most accurate results, they should be used in conjunction with or by an attending physician or nurse.