Could computers replace doctors?

Even in the realm of science fiction, computers haven't entirely replaced doctors. Take "Star Trek: Voyager" for example—set in the 24th century, holographic doctors, or Emergency Medical Holograms, are available but only in emergencies. Over time, though, The Doctor, an EMH, becomes the chief medical officer aboard the ship, showing that computers, when necessary, can play a bigger role in healthcare and even develop character.

In today's world, we often turn to computers instead of doctors, starting with Internet searches for symptoms and conditions before ever booking an appointment. However, relying on computers still differs greatly from consulting an actual human. Some argue that computers will never fully replace doctors due to their inability to engage in detailed conversations with patients, uncover crucial information for diagnoses, or provide the empathy that helps patients feel at ease.

If you were to sum up the answer to this question in one word, it would be "depends." Will medicine as we know it vanish in the future? Probably not. Will computers handle certain aspects of healthcare? Quite possibly. What we can be sure of is that the future of medicine will look drastically different from today.

Experts are divided on what the future holds when it comes to robots and computers in medicine. What do professionals think about their role in the future of healthcare? Find out more ahead.

Man vs. Machine

There's no denying that computers are advancing rapidly, and many believe they'll replace doctors to some degree. Dr. Kent Bottles predicts that "within five years, primary care providers will be replaced by sociable humanoid robots, avatars and computer programs" [source: KevinMD]. While doctors will still exist, their roles will shift to specialized areas as computers take over basic primary care tasks. Dr. Bottles believes diseases that are easy to understand scientifically, like type II diabetes, will be managed by computers, allowing doctors to focus on more complex conditions requiring intuition, such as schizophrenia.

Farhad Manjoo, a technical writer with a pathologist wife, agrees that computers will eventually replace doctors, but it's the specialists who should worry, not primary-care physicians. Manjoo explains, "robots are great specialists. They excel at doing one thing repeatedly, and when they focus, they can achieve near perfection" [source: Slate]. Primary care doctors, however, manage a broader range of diseases and conditions, making them more versatile and essential. They also possess valuable communication skills.

But is this the full picture? Ezra Klein presents another viewpoint, noting that while doctors excel at the scientific aspects of medicine, they may not always be great communicators. Computers can handle "conversation, the human element of the practice, from the technical diagnosis" [source: Washington Post]. Klein suggests that doctors' offices already have staff—like nurses—who excel at communication. This means that while some primary-care physicians might lose their jobs, human healthcare professionals will still be necessary to interact with patients and input data into computers. Similar integrations of human and computer roles are already common in fields like accountancy.

Computers are already playing a significant role in the medical field. Read on to discover their current contributions.

Surgical Robots

Since the first robot-assisted surgery in 1985, robotic surgery has gained much attention. The da Vinci Surgical System, the most common system today, includes a 3D-camera system viewed by surgeons on a screen, along with robotic arms that hold instruments inside a patient's body. These robotic arms translate the surgeon’s hand movements into much smaller ones, allowing for smaller incisions and less recovery time than traditional surgeries. This system is now used in over 800 hospitals in the United States and Europe. Until 2010, these surgeries were always guided by a surgeon, but starting that year, some were performed entirely by robots, with surgeons merely pressing buttons.

Robots are also utilized for diagnosing and treating diseases. A familiar test for many women, the Pap smear, helps detect cervical cancer and is typically performed annually. The slides from these tests are often analyzed by automated systems, which focus on suspicious areas for further review. This method has proven effective in detecting pre-cancerous lesions, boosting computer-assisted disease diagnostics.

Watson, the IBM artificial intelligence that famously triumphed over "Jeopardy!" contestants in 2011, is now being used in medical diagnostics. Watson employs evidence-based learning and natural language processing to assist doctors by analyzing the latest medical data to help reach a diagnosis.

The real question is: would people be willing to speak to a computer instead of a human doctor? Dr. Bottles believes it's possible. He points to a medical kiosk avatar showcased at the 2011 World Science Festival panel, "Man-Made Minds: Living With Thinking Machines." In one example, a young mother used the kiosk to address her child’s diarrhea concerns. The panel moderator noted that "the avatar was far more compassionate in its interaction with the child and mother than the human triage nurses she'd encountered at New York City Hospital emergency rooms" [source: Kevin MD].

If we feel cared for and receive an accurate diagnosis and treatment, perhaps it doesn't matter if the provider is human or a robot.