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Study: Web-based diagnostic tool has high accuracy rate
May 8, 2003
A Web-based diagnostic tool had a 95% accuracy rate in 100 real-life diagnoses, according to a U.K. study in the May issue of the Archives in Disease in Childhood, Medscape reports. The Isabel system displays potential diagnoses based on patient symptoms entered into the tool.
To test the system’s accuracy, junior physicians collected data on patients at two teaching hospitals and two large general hospitals. A patient’s diagnosis was collected from discharge summaries and compared to Isabel’s diagnosis. The system gave the correct diagnoses in 83 of 87 cases. However, the final diagnosis in 13 cases was not specific because Isabel’s data is based on textbooks, which can contain vague diagnoses, according to Medscape.
Researchers also tested Isabel in 99 hypothetical cases and found that the system had a 91% accuracy rate. The study found that Isabel could be particularly useful for junior physicians, who often lack the “clinical wisdom and knowledge” needed for diagnoses.
The Isabel system has more than 9,000 registered users (Tokarski, Medscape, 6/6). The Isabel Medical Charity in the United Kingdom and software company Autonomy developed the free, online tool (iHealthBeat, 6/17/2002).
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