JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Physicians have been performing the art of medicine for hundreds of years. The medical profession has always been considered exceptional and highly regarded. Since the ancient era, patients have turned to physicians for help, advice and cures. When the fathers of medicine started writing down their experience, knowledge and observations, treating medical conditions became a structured process with textbooks and professors sharing their methods over generations. After evidence-based medicine was established as the new form of medical science, the art and science of medicine have to be connected. As a result, by the end of the 20th century, healthcare has become highly dependent on technologies. From electronic medical records, telemedicine and 3D printing to algorithms and sensors, technologies started to significantly influence medical decisions and the lives of patients. While digital health technologies can be considered a threat to the art of medicine, I argue that advanced technologies especially artificial intelligence initiate the real era of the art of medicine. Described through the example of a method called reinforcement learning, artificial intelligence could be the stethoscope of the 21st century. If we embrace these tools, the real art of medicine only begins now with the era of artificial intelligence.