Clinical judgement in the era of big data and predictive analytics
Abstract
Clinical judgement is a central and longstanding issue in the philosophy of medicine which has generated significant interest over the past few decades. In this article, we explore different approaches to clinical judgement articulated in the literature, focusing in particular on data‐driven, mathematical approaches which we contrast with narrative, virtue‐based approaches to clinical reasoning. We discuss the tension between these different clinical epistemologies and further explore the implications of big data and machine learning for a philosophy of clinical judgement. We argue for a pluralistic, integrative approach, and demonstrate how narrative, virtue‐based clinical reasoning will remain indispensable in an era of big data and predictive analytics.
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Other key skills in medicine such as ethical aspects of decision making or humanization and empathy through doctor-patient interaction may become more important.
“Additionally, other key skills in medicine such as the ethical aspects of decision making or humanization and empathy through the doctor–patient interaction may become more important [3–5].”
From Exploration of exposure to artificial intelligence in undergraduate medical education: a Canadian cross-sectional mixed-methods study (2022) · cites this paper as [5]
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- Authors
- Chin‐Yee, B., & Upshur, R.
- Affiliations
- Department of Medicine University of Toronto Toronto Canada
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Venue
- Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2017-12-13
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 638-645
- ISSN
- 1356-1294 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2753
- OpenAlex
- W2771318787
- Cited by
- 59
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 2
- FWCI
- 3.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Family Practice › Clinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Skills
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Medicine, History, and Philosophy
- Keywords
- clinical judgment, clinical reasoning, big data, predictive analytics, machine learning, clinical epistemology, narrative thinking, data-driven reasoning, philosophy of medicine
- MeSH terms
- Clinical Decision-Making, Machine Learning, Narrative Medicine, Education, Medical, Judgment, Databases, Factual, Evidence-Based Medicine, Knowledge, Uncertainty
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