The select and test algorithm for inference in medical diagnostic reasoning: Implementation and evaluation in clinical psychiatry

摘要

Clinical diagnostic reasoning involves an informed search for clinical information driven by diagnostic hypotheses. This is then followed by matching the elicited clinical information with diagnostic criteria for each differential diagnosis resulting in diagnostic conclusions. The existing approaches to clinical reasoning were limited in their capabilities in adequately covering this process, particularly in arriving at diagnostic conclusions. As a solution, this paper presents previously published Select and Test (ST) algorithm that were enhanced with a technique known as orthogonal vector projection method, which is used more efficiently and effectively in arriving diagnostic conclusions. The implementation of the algorithm along with a knowledgebase in psychiatry has been described and the accuracy of the algorithm have been demonstrated by evaluating it using actual patient data.