[originaltext] Computers are being widely used in medicine. The most common

Computers are being widely used in medicine. The most common use is for keeping hospital patient records. There may be access to these at several points—hospital patient rooms, offices, laboratories and even operating theatres. Computers are also used in the delicate task of looking after patients in the intensive care unit and in monitoring those undergoing surgery.
    One of the latest developments is to use computers to assist diagnosis. A computer is programmed with information about a disease, using the accumulated knowledge of many specialists and textbooks. A doctor examining a patient may then be guided by the information given by the computer in what to look for and which questions to ask the patient. The information he gathers is fed into the computer. It may suggest further questions before finally providing a diagnosis.
    This kind of procedure causes some people anxiety. They feel it increases the gap in the personal relationship between the doctor and patient. On the other hand, it makes widely available knowledge and skill which before belonged to only a small number of specialists, or which had to be found with difficulty in published material.