Feasibility of Physician-developed Expert systems

The authors developed an experimental domain-independent "expert system generator" intended for direct use by physicians. They then undertook a four-year study to determine whether physicians could use such a system effectively. During this period they taught the use of the expert system generator to 70 medical students, who utilized it to build two small medical expert systems. At the conclusion of the course, students were examined on de-cision-making concepts and completed anonymous questionnaires. Performance scores, a composite of test and project grades, were calculated for each student. There was no significant association between previous computer experience and performance score. Thirty-two of 47 students responding felt the expert system generator was easy to use; 15 felt it was of moderate difficulty. Forty-three of 47 thought it a useful teaching aid. These data support the conclusion that physicians can learn to use domain-independent software to implement medical expert systems directly, without a knowledge engineer as an intermediary. Key words: expert systems; decision making; diagnostic aids; knowledge engineering; knowl-edge base. (Med Decis Making 6:23-26, 1986) Computer-aided medical decision-making (CMD