The role of cognitive science and artificial intelligence in supporting clinical diagnosis

Research suggests that doctors are failing to make use of technologies designed to optimize their decision-making skills in daily clinical activities, despite a proliferation of electronic tools with the potential for decreasing risks of medical and diagnostic errors. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the cognitive basis of medical decision making and its psychosocial context in relation to technology. We then discuss how cognitive-led technologies – in particular, decision support systems and artificial neural networks – may be applied in clinical contexts to improve medical decision making without becoming a substitute for the doctor’s judgment. We identify critical issues and make suggestions regarding future developments.