\u201cSufficient data used properly and reduced to the right insights does in fact make up for errors,\u201d Khosla said. \u201cI would rather have 1,500 EKGs (electrocardiograms, a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of the heart)\u00a0done much more poorly than two EKGs done a year very well, because the sources of errors in the current system are just too large. When I have two EKGs a year, I may not be symptomatic.\u00a0I\u2019m not arguing that these systems don\u2019t have errors. I\u2019m saying the volume of the data, properly applied, makes up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
http:\/\/blog.sfgate.com\/techchron\/2014\/05\/23\/vinod-khosla-doctors-cannot-compete-with-machines\/<\/p>\n
Vinod Khosla: Doctors cannot compete with machines<\/h1>\n\n\nPosted on Friday, May 23 at 11:15am<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>|\u00a0<\/span>By\u00a0Stephanie M. Lee<\/a><\/span>![\"Vinod](\"http:\/\/blog.sfgate.com\/techchron\/files\/2014\/05\/martinsbeach13_cag_150.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nVinod Khosla arrives at San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City, on May 12, 2014, on his way to testify in the Martin\u2019s Beach lawsuit. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/The Chronicle)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nVenture capitalist Vinod Khosla thinks the best way to improve health care is to get rid of most doctors.<\/p>\n
Human judgment simply cannot compete against machine-learning systems that derive predictions from millions of data points, Khosla told an audience Friday, the third and final day of Stanford University School of Medicine\u2019s\u00a0Big Data in Biomedicine Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cBiological research will be important, but it feels like data science will do more for medicine than all the biological sciences combined,\u201d he said. \u201cI may be wrong on the specifics, but I think I will be directionally right.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Silicon Valley billionaire has\u00a0been in the news this month<\/a>\u00a0for restricting access to a beach south of Half Moon Bay,\u00a0a move that is being hotly debated in court<\/a>.<\/p>\nBut Khosla devoted\u00a0his hour-long keynote speech Friday to his\u00a0long-held<\/a>\u00a0belief<\/a>\u00a0that technology will replace 80 to 90 percent of doctors\u2019 role in the decision-making process. His is one interpretation of the implications of big data \u2014 the popular term for the massive volumes of digital information generated by electronic health records, genetic sequencing, clinical trials and other sources.<\/p>\n\u201cSufficient data used properly and reduced to the right insights does in fact make up for errors,\u201d Khosla said. \u201cI would rather have 1,500 EKGs (electrocardiograms, a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of the heart)\u00a0done much more poorly than two EKGs done a year very well, because the sources of errors in the current system are just too large. When I have two EKGs a year, I may not be symptomatic.\u00a0I\u2019m not arguing that these systems don\u2019t have errors. I\u2019m saying the volume of the data, properly applied, makes up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s only a matter of time before health care accepts that technology can do a better job of predicting patients\u2019 risks for diseases, diagnosing illnesses and pinpointing the most effective therapies, Khosla said. He noted that Wall Street analysts and pilots also at first resisted, before they embraced, data-driven machines.<\/p>\n
In particular, he said, wearable medical sensors, like Fitbit, will give patients power to make informed health and health-related decisions on their own.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly, this argument didn\u2019t go over smoothly with some of the physicians in the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t agree with 80 percent of your remarks,\u201d one clinician told him.<\/p>\n
Khosla acknowledged his view is often not a popular one, but did not back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHumans are not good when 500 variables affect a disease. We can handle three to five to seven, maybe,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are guided too much by opinions, not by statistical science.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
But Khosla devoted\u00a0his hour-long keynote speech Friday to his\u00a0long-held\u00a0belief\u00a0that technology will replace 80 to 90 percent of doctors\u2019 role in the decision-making process. \u201cSufficient data used properly and reduced to the right insights does in fact make up for errors,\u201d Khosla said. \u201cI would rather have 1,500 EKGs (electrocardiograms, a test that checks for … Continue reading Vinod smashes up doctors (again)<\/span>
<\/a><\/p>\nVinod Khosla arrives at San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City, on May 12, 2014, on his way to testify in the Martin\u2019s Beach lawsuit. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez\/The Chronicle)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla thinks the best way to improve health care is to get rid of most doctors.<\/p>\n Human judgment simply cannot compete against machine-learning systems that derive predictions from millions of data points, Khosla told an audience Friday, the third and final day of Stanford University School of Medicine\u2019s\u00a0Big Data in Biomedicine Conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cBiological research will be important, but it feels like data science will do more for medicine than all the biological sciences combined,\u201d he said. \u201cI may be wrong on the specifics, but I think I will be directionally right.\u201d<\/p>\n The Silicon Valley billionaire has\u00a0been in the news this month<\/a>\u00a0for restricting access to a beach south of Half Moon Bay,\u00a0a move that is being hotly debated in court<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Khosla devoted\u00a0his hour-long keynote speech Friday to his\u00a0long-held<\/a>\u00a0belief<\/a>\u00a0that technology will replace 80 to 90 percent of doctors\u2019 role in the decision-making process. His is one interpretation of the implications of big data \u2014 the popular term for the massive volumes of digital information generated by electronic health records, genetic sequencing, clinical trials and other sources.<\/p>\n \u201cSufficient data used properly and reduced to the right insights does in fact make up for errors,\u201d Khosla said. \u201cI would rather have 1,500 EKGs (electrocardiograms, a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of the heart)\u00a0done much more poorly than two EKGs done a year very well, because the sources of errors in the current system are just too large. When I have two EKGs a year, I may not be symptomatic.\u00a0I\u2019m not arguing that these systems don\u2019t have errors. I\u2019m saying the volume of the data, properly applied, makes up for it.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s only a matter of time before health care accepts that technology can do a better job of predicting patients\u2019 risks for diseases, diagnosing illnesses and pinpointing the most effective therapies, Khosla said. He noted that Wall Street analysts and pilots also at first resisted, before they embraced, data-driven machines.<\/p>\n In particular, he said, wearable medical sensors, like Fitbit, will give patients power to make informed health and health-related decisions on their own.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, this argument didn\u2019t go over smoothly with some of the physicians in the crowd.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t agree with 80 percent of your remarks,\u201d one clinician told him.<\/p>\n Khosla acknowledged his view is often not a popular one, but did not back down.<\/p>\n \u201cHumans are not good when 500 variables affect a disease. We can handle three to five to seven, maybe,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are guided too much by opinions, not by statistical science.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" But Khosla devoted\u00a0his hour-long keynote speech Friday to his\u00a0long-held\u00a0belief\u00a0that technology will replace 80 to 90 percent of doctors\u2019 role in the decision-making process. \u201cSufficient data used properly and reduced to the right insights does in fact make up for errors,\u201d Khosla said. \u201cI would rather have 1,500 EKGs (electrocardiograms, a test that checks for … Continue reading Vinod smashes up doctors (again)<\/span>