Watson and the future of the medical world

There seems to be apprehension and even fear among medical students at the University of Miami as well as other universities in the US about the impact that Watson, (the IBM computer system) will have on the medical profession and specifically on the role of doctors. 

They simply fear that Watson will do to them what simpler computers have already done in other areas like banking, communications, newspaper and magazine printing, architecture, manufacturing, accounting, etc... sectors where millions of jobs that years ago were considered of importance today do not exist. (Imagine how many book keepers would be needed in a bank without computers, how many architects and designers would have been needed to design the Burg Kalifa building in Dubai  if computers had not been used for drawings and calculations).

IBM advertises Watson as a system (see attachment)  that will be capable to assist doctors by making more precise diagnostics by comparing test analysis with a data bank that currently has millions of pages of information for oncology only, and that will then follow up on the patient, receive new data that will then update its repository of information and if needed modify the procedures recommended to that point. But there seems to be more. Even in a language that tries hard to be humble IBM presents Watson to the doctors not only as a useful machine, but as a "colleague".

This past week end at Brewer Park (1) and between sets of tennis,  a medical student at the University of Miami told us that they see it in a different light. They visualize a world where doctors will be basically not needed or play a secondary role as Watson will be able to communicate individually with thousands of patients at the same time using mobile devices, ask them questions, order and review tests and in some case perform the tests itself, analyze the data, prescribe a procedure that is tailored to the patient that takes all available data into consideration including the patients individual genome. Communication will be direct from the patients home or working place with Watson via smart phones  and no clinics, medical appointments or doctors presence will be needed.

It seems that in addition to the announced Watson capabilities, the work of science writers and futurologists is affecting them, as these authors imagine a medical world run by a Watson that has a level of Artificial Intelligency and knowledge  that goes far and beyond the natural intelligence of humans, where surgery ordered by a central computer is performed by another computer robot that will use lasers for minimal invasion and will then reconstruct the damaged flesh and organs so efficiently that recovery will be almost immediate.

In summary they see a world where they graduate with a Medical Diploma that will be basically worthless, with student debt of a quarter million dollars or more and no decent job prospects. Dim.

Offerings

IBM Watson for Oncology

Get oncologists the assistance they need to make more informed treatment decisions. Watson for Oncology analyzes a patient’s medical information against a vast array of data and expertise to provide evidence-based treatment options.

Watch now (02:45)

02:45

IBM Watson and Memorial Sloan Kettering

Watson provides clinicians with evidence-based treatment options based on expert training by MSK physicians.

Whether a community oncology practice or an international hospital, oncologists like all clinicians are struggling to keep up with the large volume of research, medical records, and clinical trials. Watson scales vital knowledge and helps oncologists. Now, with the collaboration between IBM and MSK, Watson for Oncology utilizes world-renowned MSK expertise to evaluate specific details of each unique patient against clinical evidence.

Analyzes the patient’s medical record

Watson for Oncology has an advanced ability to analyze the meaning and context of structured and unstructured data in clinical notes and reports, easily assimilating key patient information written in plain English that may be critical to selecting a treatment pathway.

Identifies potential evidence-based treatment options

By combining attributes from the patient’s file with clinical expertise, external research, and data, Watson for Oncology identifies potential treatment plans for a patient. This means doctors can consider the treatment options provided by Watson when making decisions for individual patients.

Finds and provides supporting evidence from a wide variety of sources

Watson ranks identified treatment options and provides links to supporting evidence for each option to help oncologists as they consider treatment options for their patient. Watson for Oncology draws from an impressive corpus of information, including MSK curated literature and rationales, as well as over 290 medical journals, over 200 textbooks, and 12 million pages of text. Watson for Oncology also supplies for consideration supporting evidence in the form of administration information, as well as warnings and toxicities for each drug.

“It will be like having a capable and knowledgeable ‘colleague’ who can review the current information that relates to my patient… It is fast, thorough, and has the uncanny ability to understand how the available evidence applies to the unique individual I am treating.”

Dr. James Miser, Bumrungrad’s Chief Medical Information Officer

(1)

Brewer Park is a little corner in South Miami with 2 tennis courts and a children´s playground. It is home to 

a dozen ducks, several iguanas, occasionally and Egyptian goose and lately a hen.

Any given week end about 8 or 9 people show up to play doubles, out of a universe of about 30

regulars.  Places of origin include Argentina, Venezuela, Korea, Puerto Rico, Granada, (the little island), Alabama, 

Georgia, New Jersey, California, Italy, Germany, France, Romania, Nicaragua and of course Cuba.

Professions represented include: Lawyers, (very many),  construction, business, engineering, banking, 

diplomacy, teaching, food processing, college students, etc... 

¿Un pre teen con el control de la caja roja?

Este Donald Trump candidato de los Republicanos es realmente un caso patético. Obviamente se trata de un tipo enfermo de vanidad, sumamente inseguro de si mismo y con el ego y el vocabulario de un niño de 5 años.

 Usaba nombres falsos, Barrow, John Miller, etc.. para llamar a los periódicos para hablar bellezas de el mismo, de como era de bonito, de como lo perseguían las mujeres, de como estaba cada vez más rico, etc.... Ahora lo niega, pero los expertos dicen que es su voz, sus mujeres dicen que es su voz y el lenguaje pobre de quinto grado de primaria en un mal alumno que usa el día de hoy es el mismo de ese entonces.

Sería un desgracia nacional que un desajustado mental tenga los códigos de las bombas atómicas al alcance de la mano y el poder de movilizar ejércitos. Sería demasiado riesgoso

además de vergonzoso.  

Pero bueno, peor que GWB, imposible.

Politics

Donald Trump masqueraded as publicist to brag about himself

In a 1991 recording obtained by The Washington Post’s Marc Fisher, a man who claims to be a spokesman for Donald Trump named John Miller tells a People magazine reporter about Trump’s first divorce, his romance with France’s future first lady and his messy breakup with Marla Maples. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)

By Marc Fisher and Will Hobson May 13 at 4:38 PM 

The voice is instantly familiar; the tone, confident, even cocky; the cadence, distinctly Trumpian. The man on the phone vigorously defending Donald Trump says he’s a media spokesman named John Miller, but then he says, “I’m sort of new here,” and “I’m somebody that he knows and I think somebody that he trusts and likes” and even “I’m going to do this a little, part-time, and then, yeah, go on with my life.”

A recording obtained by The Washington Post captures what New York reporters and editors who covered Trump’s early career experienced in the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s: calls from Trump’s Manhattan office that resulted in conversations with “John Miller” or “John Barron” — public-relations men who sound precisely like Trump himself — who indeed are Trump, masquerading as an unusually helpful and boastful advocate for himself, according to the journalists and several of Trump’s top aides.

In 1991, Sue Carswell, a reporter at People magazine, called Trump’s office seeking an interview with the developer. She had just been assigned to cover the soap opera surrounding the end of Trump’s 12-year marriage to Ivana, his budding relationship with the model Marla Maples and his rumored affairs with any number of celebrities who regularly appeared on the gossip pages of the New York newspapers.

Within five minutes, Carswell got a return call from Trump’s publicist, a man named John Miller, who immediately jumped into a startlingly frank and detailed explanation of why Trump dumped Maples for the Italian model Carla Bruni. “He really didn’t want to make a commitment,” Miller said. “He’s coming out of a marriage, and he’s starting to do tremendously well financially.”

Miller turned out to be a remarkably forthcoming source — a spokesman with rare insight into the private thoughts and feelings of his client. “Have you met him?” Miller asked the reporter. “He’s a good guy, and he’s not going to hurt anybody. . . . He treated his wife well and . . . he will treat Marla well.”

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks in his office at Trump Tower. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

[Read the full text of the ‘John Miller’ interview]

Some reporters found the calls from Miller or Barron disturbing or even creepy; others thought they were just examples of Trump being playful. Today, as the presumptive Republican nominee for president faces questions about his attitudes toward women, what stands out to some who received those calls is Trump’s characterization of women who he portrayed as drawn to him sexually.

“Actresses,” Miller said in the call to Carswell, “just call to see if they can go out with him and things.” Madonna “wanted to go out with him.” And Trump’s alter ego boasted that in addition to living with Maples, Trump had “three other girlfriends.”

Miller was consistent about referring to Trump as “he,” but at one point, when asked how important Bruni was in Trump’s busy love life, the spokesman said, “I think it’s somebody that — you know, she’s beautiful. I saw her once, quickly, and beautiful . . . ” and then he quickly pivoted back into talking about Trump — then a 44-year-old father of three — in the third person.

In 1990, Trump testified in a court case that “I believe on occasion I used that name.”

In a phone call to NBC’s “Today” program Friday morning after this article appeared online, Trump denied that he was John Miller. “No, I don’t think it — I don’t know anything about it. You’re telling me about it for the first time and it doesn’t sound like my voice at all,” he said. “I have many, many people that are trying to imitate my voice and then you can imagine that, and this sounds like one of the scams, one of the many scams — doesn’t sound like me.” Later, he was more definitive: “It was not me on the phone. And it doesn’t sound like me on the phone, I will tell you that, and it was not me on the phone. And when was this? Twenty-five years ago?”

Then, Friday afternoon, Washington Post reporters who were 44 minutes into a phone interview with Trump about his finances asked him a question about Miller: “Did you ever employ someone named John Miller as a spokesperson?”