Interactive Communication in the Medical Domain

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Interactive Communication in the Medical Domain

• Henning Müller
• Seminar 8.10.2003

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Interactive communication

• Between humans
• New communication methods
• Between humans and machines
• Synergy between humans and computers
• Between machines
• Norms and standards

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Interactive communication

• Between humans
• New communication methods
• Between humans and machines
• Synergy between humans and computers
• Between machines
• Norms and standards

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Communication Computation conversation
Considérant la créatinine sérique du jour, je
recommande d'ajuster le dosage de la gentamicine
intraveineuse à 80 mg toutes les 24 heures, et
d'en mesurer le taux sanguin dans trois jours
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New utilities

• Email between patients and practitioners
• Clear practices need to be established
• Modalities
• Responsibilities
• Encryption of confidential data
• Private sphere needs to be respected as in any
  another contact
• Electronic prescriptions
• Unique patient identification that does not allow
  an identification by third parties (PFPD)
• Digital signature needs to be accepted legally
  (3.4.2003)

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Interactive communication

• Between humans
• New communication methods
• Between humans and machines
• Synergy between humans and computers
• Between machines
• Norms and standards

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The human brain Some limits

• Can only handle 7-2 tasks at a time (or even
  less)
• Miller GA. The magical number seven, plus or
  minus two some limits on our capacity for
  processing information. 1956.
• Cowan N. The magical number 4 in short-term
  memory a reconsideration of mental storage
  capacity. Behav Brain Sci 2001.
• Has a limited memory
• Has a limit capability to observe events
• Is bad at estimating probabilities

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Computers Some limits

• Computers
• Are not good at showing common sense
• Do not know the limits of their processing
• Can only mimmick an experts way of working
• Are not very likely to choose a job in the health
  sector on their own based on their mental
  structure

"Computers aren't intelligent, they only think
they are." Anonymous  
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Interactive communication

• Between humans
• New communication methods
• Between humans and machines
• Synergy between humans and computers
• Between machines
• Norms and standards

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Need for standards in medical informatics

• Standards are necessary when variety hinders the
  efficiency of processes
• Health care sector is a community of loosely
  coupled, independent organizations
• Few bidirectional exchanges between the different
  care sectors
• Hospital and ambulant care
• Even within a hospital
• Patient is treated by several experts that
  communicate little or not at all
• Such a structure is due to the choice of the
  patient and due to the health system

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Conclusions

• Knowledge on interactive communication in the
  medical domain is important!
• To understand and find problems
• To reduce errors
• Computers and humans have to concentrate on their
  strong points
• Technology can help if used correctly
• Standards are necessary and need to be used for
  good information handling