A Descriptive Analysis for a Collaborative Work Process: A Complex Real Medical Case in the Radiological Field

Abstract

Collaborative acts occur daily in every human activity. In the case of medicine, and particularly in the diagnostic decision process, these acts are very frequent and occur naturally. It is very important to properly understand how these collaborative acts are developed in order to provide tools that facilitate and support them. In this article, we describe this collaborative work process in the framework of a complex real medical case in the radiological field. Usually, complex cases require several specialists. In this work, we have analyzed the intervention of several specialists and the exchange and interaction of different reasoning strategies among specialists, while considering their temporal dimension. Two types of collaboration are presented in the case analysis (1) exchange between specialists from different specialties and (2) exchange between specialists from the same specialty. The method of analysis follows five steps: (1) Case synopsis, (2) Temporal representation of the case, (3) Analysis of the general decision in the case, (4) Analysis of the reasoning in the medical case using the different strategies, and (5) Analysis of radiological collaboration. We have presented different reasoning strategies, data, hypotheses and complementary tests from different sources in the diagnostic resolution process and we have shown that collaboration is present during the entire process. The temporality and the intervention of different specialists is shown using a graphical representation. We have focused special attention on radiological collaboration, and have shown how a radiological diagnosis is achieved. We have discussed different elements present in the collaboration process. Our study has produced meta-knowledge derived from these exchanges that is of value in the context of artificial intelligence progress, in particular for the comprehension of collaborative medical work.