micro-RECONSIDER is an interactive computer program which uses simple information retrieval techniques based on keyword search and lexical matching to generate a list of possible, though not necessarily probable, diseases given a list of positive patient findings. Its knowledge base consists of structured natural language descriptions of 3262 diseases augmented by a hand-crafted medical thesaurus. This micro-RECONSIDER implementation for the IBM-PC XT retains most of the functionality of its predecessor, VAX RECONSIDER. In addition, micro-RECONSIDER features a significantly improved user interface utilizing windows and video attributes. With natural language input, rapid response, useful differentials, and transparent reasoning, micro-RECONSIDER's availability on inexpensive microcomputers may presage widespread use of computerized decision support tools by health care practitioners.
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