In practice, these two are extremes on a continuum of clinical knowledge. In most instances, clinicians who possess sufficient knowledge and patient data are able to make the right decision. Clinicians cannot keep up with ever-increasing medical knowledge. Healthcare organizations may mandate certain clinical practices both to improve the quality of care and to lower the cost of care. The question is whether computers are able to make decisions that are identical to those of experienced clinicians using the same patient data and knowledge.
Patient data are sometimes only partly available.
A specific patient's problem may be new and unique. Computers may assist in problem solving, but they undoubtedly go about it in a very different way than humans do. Furthermore, computers require formalization and a structured approach to problem solving. This holds true for both data and knowledge. In teaching computers to assist in solving a decision problem, it is important to collect a sufficient amount of reliable patient observations and knowledge.