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Updated: 11:48 AM Sep 21, 2007
Doctor Diagnosis
Doctors and medical students at UVa are getting some extra help when it comes to diagnosing patients.
Posted: 11:30 PM Sep 12, 2007Reporter: Philip Stewart Email Address: philip.stewart@wcav.tv  Doctor Diagnosis |
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3 Comments 
September 12, 2007
It's called 'Isabel.' It is a web-based medical technology that generates a list of possible diagnoses based on a patient's symptoms.
It is helping doctors at UVa pinpoint a patient's diagnosis.
"It's not meant to make the diagnosis for me, but it's meant to make me think about all the possibilities, so I think it exposes some of my potential mistakes," said Dr. Stephen Borowitz, a Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at the UVA Medical Center.
Think of it as Google for doctors. Physicians enter some symptoms. Isabel then searches for a diagnosis based on an almost endless amount of medical data.
"(Isabel searches) thousands of documents from medical textbooks and journals to give you, as the expert, in an instant, a list of likely suspects for you to consider," explained Dr. Joseph Britto, the CEO and Co-Founder of Isabel Healthcare, Inc.
"It's impossible for me to keep a list of all the rare diseases that are possibilities out there in my head all the time, so Isabel can bring a lot of that to the front," added Borowitz.
According to the 2003 Journal of the American Medical Association, doctors misdiagnose eight to 24 percent of the time. So many see Isabel as a welcome tool. But even its strongest supporters make it clear that Isabel is an assisting tool. It's not meant to replace a physicians knowledge or experience.
"Isabel is not an oracle, it's not some wise Yoda-the-Jedi master that knows everything," said Britto.
It may not be perfect, but in 2005, a study found it to be 96 percent accurate when key symptoms were entered.
And doctors say Isabel is a sign of things to come.
"Colleagues will no longer carry around paper-based records," said Britto. "We'll be carrying around digital records."
Isabel isn't just limited to use with patients at the Medical Center. Doctors also say it's a valuable educational tool for medical students.
UVa is one of about 20 hospitals across the country that currently has access to the Isabel system, which was developed about eight years ago.
Latest Comments
IVE heard about this. I think its genius personally. Obviously we dont want a computer diagnosing patients. But truth is, doctors are just people. They have VERY busy lives, they have an incredible amount of information that they need to constantly be processing. It can be easy for them to miss a diagnosis possibility. I think Isabel is perfect, because the program can help them remember all possible diagnosis. The only problem would be if the doctor got used to using this program, and perhaps the diagnosis was not listed in isabel. We had something very similiar in our cna classes that helped us figure out what the next step was for our patients. technology might make us a bit lazy, but it sure can help to keep the vast amount of information in the healthcare industry straight.
It is always nice to see doctors using modern technology. It is very important to understand that modern technology can be highly useful nowadays in diagnosing and curing many complicated diseases. I remember that while I was passing my cna certification I was taught to work with many web based applications and I feel the real help from them nowadays. I hope that all doctors in all states will understand that in the future too. Thanks for the article here.
i have this like lump in my mouth which i have had for years, and im just wondering what it could be its based at the front of mouth on my lower jaw bone,its right next to the bit where the slavia comes out, underneath my tongue, ive had it for years for as long as i can remember, it doesnt hurt and it hasnt got any bigger im just wondering what it is and why has it been there for years?
