When I use a word . . . . Too much healthcare—technology

Abstract

Much modern healthcare depends on the excellent technology that we have at our disposal. However, technology can result in too much healthcare, not by having too much technology, but because the technology we have is capable of being misused or the results misinterpreted. New forms of technology are often associated with fear: fear of using them lest damage occurs, either to the technology itself or through use of the technology, and fear of “technological unemployment.” Artificial intelligence can go wrong through unintended consequences of the programming. Technology can be deliberately misused, as when predatory open access journals offer online publication of poor research for payment, without offering the type of backup that one would normally expect from a publisher, or when machine translators are used to substitute terms in fake papers with so-called “tortured phrases.” Producing fake images through manipulation is another example. Misinterpretation of technological outputs can also lead to impaired healthcare. Technological advances have revolutionised our management of many healthcare problems, but misuse of technology and misinterpretation of results can lead to overdetection, overdiagnosis, and misdiagnosis, potentially leading to overtreatment.

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