USES OF EXPERT SYSTEMS
WHAT IS AN EXPERT SYSTEM?
An expert system is a package that holds a body of
knowledge and a set of rules on a subject that has
been gained from human experts.
An expert system helps the user make decisions by
asking questions and then, based on the user’s
answers and the knowledge that it holds, offering
advice. It can even explain to the user how it arrived
at its conclusions
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Software features
The databases in the software contain health care information by
separating data into knowledge-based components. Most expert systems
used in health care administration are Windows-based software programs
that can run on any type of operating system.
Hardware features
Hardware that supports expert systems for health care administration are
usually mini-computer systems. These systems can be located in a
hospital, medical institution or at a remote processing site. Other systems,
such as PC-based network systems, wireless-based computer devices and
mobile phones, can access an expert system designated for health care
administration based on security access codes usually provided by a health
care information systems officer.
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Create scenarios
A expert system for health care administration can create "what if" scenarios that
allow doctors, nurses, researchers and patients to access information on any medical
procedure, research project or administrative function. Health care information can
be accessed on a "real-time" basis, which means that data is constantly updated when
changes or new information is loaded into the system.
Heuristics
Heuristics is the process of responding to a question posed to the system in the
format of text, video, touch screen input or keywords and phrases. Medical personnel
can create their own knowledge base components ranging from administrative
procedures to medical procedures, administrative processes and discoveries for other
people to examine and research.
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End-user interfaces
An example of a web based expert system interface is a cancer patient researching
information on medical advances concerning cancer. The web interface allows the
end user to input their scenario and scans several databases for the latest research
developments in the field of cancer research. Many of these web interfaces respond
through a knowledge base in the form of text, audio or video.
Artificial intelligence
Expert systems for health care administration are designed from simplistic text-based
response systems, which provide information on a certain medical topic or
administrative process or complex system, addressing a range of needs through many
output responses. These expert systems are expensive to operate and maintain and
involve the highest level of software and hardware security to protect sensitive data.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF
EXPERT SYSTEMS?
In hospitals expert systems can help doctors
diagnose illnesses and
suggest treatments.
People in remote places, for example doctors in
remote hospitals, can
have expert help and advice on hand in the shape of
the expert system.
HOW DO THEY WORK?
An expert system is made up of three parts:
A user interface - This is the system that allows a non-expert
user to query (question) the expert system, and to receive advice.
The user-interface is designed to be a simple to use as possible.
A knowledge base - This is a collection of facts and rules. The
knowledge base is created from information provided by human
experts
An inference engine - This acts rather like a search engine,
examining the knowledge base for information that matches the
user's query
ADVANTAGES OF EXPERT
SYSTEMS
Training people to become an expert is
expensive and very time consuming. Expert
systems, though can be copied many times.
They are always available unlike us that need
holidays, get sick, change job etc.
Contain the accumulated knowledge from
many experts on a particular subject.
DISADVANTAGES
However expert systems can some problems:
Can't easily adapt to new circumstances (e.g. if they
are presented with totally unexpected data, they are
unable to process it)
Can be difficult to use (if the non-expert user
makes mistakes when using the system, the
resulting advice could be very wrong)
They have no 'common sense' (a human user tends
to notice obvious errors, whereas a computer
wouldn't)
TECHMED 2014
They can use expert systems to find a
diagnosis for someone with an illness. They
can do this by typing in symptoms to the
expert system and finding out with illness the
symptoms relate to with the knowledge from
the system. This is good because people
don’t need extra training to become an
expert.