X-Message-Number: 5454
From:  (David Stodolsky)
Subject: Fwd: Medical Diagnosis by Computer
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 95 17:33:49 +0100


Forward of article <> () by 
 (RISKS List Owner):
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Date: Tue, 19 Dec 95 09:01:28 PST
From: odinba!odin! (Gretchen Herbkersman Dept 5428)
Subject: Medical Diagnosis by Computer (amplification)

Sorry, I thought I'd sent more info.  Here's a quote from the Wall Street
Journal, Monday, Dec. 18, 1995, page B1:

"The next time you visit the doctor with an aching back, it may be a
computer that decides you don't need tests and sends you home with
painkillers and a list of exercises.

"So-called smart software programs, packed with data on the treatment of
maladies from heart disease to depression, are the newest tools of
managed-care companies in their constant fight to control expenses.
Eventually there may be no arguing with them -- a doctor will follow the
computer's advice or find another health plan to work for.

"The programs are operated either by an HMO clerk who answers an 800 number
when your doctor calls to authorize treatments and tests, or, increasingly,
directly by doctors in their offices.  They are a powerful new tool for
deciding whether your case justifies what you're claiming."

As a sometime programmer and dabbler in databases, I find this news
exceedingly disconcerting.  It is the best reason I can think of for staying
well.  At any rate, please read the rest of the article.

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David S. Stodolsky      Euromath Center     University of Copenhagen
   Tel.: +45 38 33 03 30   Fax: +45 38 33 88 80 (C)


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