Decision-Support Application and System for Medical Differential-Diagnosis and Treatment Using a Question-Answering System

A computer system for decision support, comprising:

• a decision-support system including one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or more computer-readable tangible storage media, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more computer-readable tangible storage media for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, wherein the computer system is capable of performing a method comprising:
• identifying, by the decision-support system, at least one semantic concept in a problem case information that is logically related to a problem case-specific domain, wherein the decision-support system comprises a computerized device having access to a plurality of evidence sources containing knowledge associated with the problem case-specific domain;
• generating, by the decision-support system, a query based on the identified at least one semantic concept in the problem case information;
• in response to the generated query, generating, by the decision-support system, a plurality of answers by identifying a corresponding text within an evidence source associated with the problem case-specific domain to support the plurality of generated answers;
• calculating, by the decision-support system, a confidence value corresponding to each answer of the plurality of generated answers based on a plurality of calculated evidence dimensions relevant to the problem case-specific domain;
• outputting, concurrently by the decision-support system to a decision-maker, the plurality of generated answers, the calculated confidence value corresponding to each answer of the plurality of generated answers, and at least one generated digital link to the evidence source for each of the plurality of generated answers so that the plurality of generated answers, the calculated confidence value corresponding to each generated answer, and the at least one generated digital link to the evidence source for each of the plurality of generated answers are usable by the decision-maker to perform an action regarding the problem case information;
• in response to determining that the calculated confidence value corresponding to each answer of the plurality of generated answers is affected by at least one relevant information that is not contained within the problem case information, identifying the at least one relevant information as at least one missing information;
• and
• transmitting, by the decision-support system, a request to the decision-maker to add the at least one missing information to the problem case information.

A computer program product for decision support, the computer program product comprising:

• one or more computer-readable storage media and program instructions collectively stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media, the program instructions comprising:
• program instructions to identify, by the decision-support system, at least one semantic concept in a problem case information that is logically related to a problem case-specific domain, wherein the decision-support system comprises a computerized device having access to a plurality of evidence sources containing knowledge associated with the problem case-specific domain;
• program instructions to generate, by the decision-support system, a query based on the identified at least one semantic concept in the problem case information;
• program instructions to, in response to the generated query, generate, by the decision-support system, a plurality of answers by identifying a corresponding text within an evidence source associated with the problem case-specific domain to support the plurality of generated answers;
• program instructions to calculate, by the decision-support system, a confidence value corresponding to each answer of the plurality of generated answers based on a plurality of calculated evidence dimensions relevant to the problem case-specific domain;
• program instructions to output, concurrently by the decision-support system to a decision-maker, the plurality of generated answers, the calculated confidence value corresponding to each answer of the plurality of generated answers, and at least one generated digital link to the evidence source for each of the plurality of generated answers so that the plurality of generated answers, the calculated confidence value corresponding to each generated answer, and the at least one generated digital link to the evidence source for each of the plurality of generated answers are usable by the decision-maker to perform an action regarding the problem case information;
• program instructions to, in response to determining that the calculated confidence value corresponding to each answer of the plurality of generated answers is affected by at least one relevant information that is not contained within the problem case information, identify the at least one relevant information as at least one missing information;
• and
• program instructions to transmit, by the decision-support system, a request to the decision-maker to add the at least one missing information to the problem case information.