A STUDY OF ON-LINE INTERROGATION OF HOSPITAL PATIENTS BY A TIME-SHARING TERMINAL WITH COMPUTER/CONSULTANT COMPARISON ANALYSIS

摘要

The project has involved placing an on-line terminal in the out-patients department of the Gastroenterology Clinic in that hospital, and interrogating dyspeptic patients via an automatic history-taking project.nHistory-taking is an important part of the medical examination, and as carried out by a doctor includes at least two separate activities:n1. Eliciting evidence about possible diseases,n2. Getting an impression of the patient's whole personality and character.nIn this paper we are only concerned with the first activity that of eliciting evidence. The second type of activity implies a much more complex process using what may be called "pattern recognition". It is of extreme importance in acquiring the information on which to base a decision, for example, when to operate on a patient.