Dr. Manny: Study confirms human docs better than computers— why that's a good thing

Ever since the Affordable Care Act came to be, there has been a concerted effort to computerize health care, and this goal has come with wanted and unwanted effects on patient outcomes. For example, computerization is great when it comes to having accurate medical records or evaluating statistical outcomes, especially if the data entry is accurate. But there is also an underlying way of reliance on the use of computer technology to triage patient care, as well as directly help with the differential diagnoses and the recommendation of possible therapies for patients. When considering the relationship between human and digital MDs and the quality of patient care, I find a recent study by Harvard University research quite interesting. For one of the first times I've seen, we have some objective data that suggests humans in health care have a better understanding of the multitude of factors that need to be considered to make a diagnosis, and I hope that people in high places who are making decisions for our country get a chance to talk and evaluate this data.