Comparison of Physician and Computer Diagnostic Accuracy.

Comparison of Physician and Computer Diagnostic Accuracy The Institute of Medicine recently highlighted that physician diagnostic error is common and information technology may be part of the solution.1 Given advancements in computer science, computersmay be able to independentlymake accurate clinical diagnoses.2While studieshave compared computer vs physicianperformance for readingelectrocardiograms,3 thediagnostic accuracy of computers vs physicians remains unknown. To fill this gap in knowledge, we compared the diagnostic accuracyofphysicianswith computer algorithmscalled symptom checkers. Symptom checkers are websites and apps that help patients with self-diagnosis. After answering a series of questions, theuser is given a list of rank-orderedpotential diagnoses generated by a computer algorithm. Previously, we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of 23 symptom checkers using 45 clinical vignettes.4 The vignettes included the patient’smedicalhistoryandhadnophysical examinationor test findings. In this study we compared the diagnostic performance of physicians with symptom checkers for those same vignettes using a unique online platform called Human Dx.