Doctors beat online symptom checkers in diagnosis contest

An article on Reuters Health reports on a study that found that doctors are much better than symptom-checker programs at reaching a correct diagnosis, although humans are not perfect and might benefit from using algorithms to supplement their skills, and quotes Leslie Bisson, June and Eugene Mindell Professor and chair of the Department of Orthopaedics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “Patients need to know that most (symptom checkers) have limited accuracy, and should not be considered a substitute for a history and physical examination by a health-care provider,” he said. The article appeared in news outlets around the world, including Yahoo News, Reuters UK and Reuters India, Channel News Asia, Philadelphia Inquirer, Fox News, Huffington Post and Toronto Globe and Mail.

Read more:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diagnosis-symptom-checkers-idUSKCN12B2OO

https://www.yahoo.com/news/doctors-beat-online-symptom-checkers-diagnosis-contest-213450766.html

http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-diagnosis-symptom-checkers-idUKKCN12B2OO

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/health/doctors-beat-online-symptom-checkers-in-diagnosis-contest/3198854.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/reuters/news/report/20161011_Reuters_L1N1CH1ZO_Doctors_beat_online_symptom_checkers_in_diagnosis_contest.html

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/10/12/doctors-beat-online-symptom-checkers-in-diagnosis-contest.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/doctors-significantly-better-than-google-according-to-new-research_us_57fe4d59e4b05eff55809fd9

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/doctors-beat-online-symptom-checkers-in-diagnosis-contest-study/article32327931/