Forum: ‘Medical intuition’ cannot be replaced by AI
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I read the article “ Healthcare cluster rolls out ‘AI-free’ periods for doctors to prevent deskilling”
Older medical practitioners would remember the training we received from the senior doctors of yesteryear.
We were grilled to remember that the practice of medicine is not just science – it is also an art.
This includes taking a relevant medical history, having the wisdom to recommend needed investigations, as well as the wholesome management of the patient’s illness.
Taking the time to listen to the patient, for example, may go a long way in clinching the diagnosis, and certainly, doctors can give many real-life examples of this in their practice.
In one case I experienced, an old patient slipped in the bathroom and knocked his head. There was no bleeding, no loss of consciousness and no vomiting – all signs of a serious head injury.
But subsequently, he complained of severe headache for several days and the pain was so intense that he could not sleep.
From his years of seeing me, I knew this patient could tolerate pain and rarely complained of pain or discomfort.
I sent him for a CT scan despite there not being any strong “evidence” clinically.
The next day, he had to have an emergency operation to remove a subdural clot. I was told that he was just hours away from a neurological “disaster”.
This came not from AI, but some lucky “medical intuition” garnered from the skills and knowledge from my medical teachers and mentors.
Quek Koh Choon (Dr)
