Automated Medical Algorithms: Issues for Medical Errors

Medical errors can be reduced by the sharing of medical information and the correct application of medical information. A wealth of medical information exists in the form of published medical algorithms. These algorithms represent a summary of medical research ranging from simple calculations such as Body-Mass Index to complex outcome predictions. Application of such algorithms can generate information crucial to the clinical process. The barriers to their application include (among others): the lack of knowledge that they exist, uncertainty about their boundaries, difficulty in converting to the units expressed in the algorithm, and lack of availability at the point of care. Automation of medical algorithms can serve to both share the medical information as well as assist in the correct application of that information.