Monday, 16 June 2025

P AI X CLINICAL CARE

 A

Here’s the gist of McCradden et al.’s 2025 grounded theory study on what makes a “good” decision using AI in paediatric care:


🧩 Study Overview

  • Conducted semi-structured interviews (virtual ICU handover scenario with a simulated ML model and seven visualization types) with 16 care providers—doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists—and an ML specialist (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov).

  • Aimed to identify conditions under which AI-assisted decisions are perceived as sound and trustworthy.


✅ Core Findings – What Makes a “Good” AI-Supported Decision

1. Performance in local context

  • What matters most: real-world accuracy on “our own patients.” Clinicians trusted models that had known performance in their specific environment—even more than global accuracy metrics .

2. Explainability ≠ Necessity

  • Explainability was interesting but not essential for decision-making.

  • Clinicians often skipped over model explanations and didn’t scrutinize conflicting information among visualizations (linkedin.com).

3. Critical reasoning still wins

  • Providers actively applied their medical knowledge, questioning the model when it seemed off (“model must know something I don’t” versus “I don’t trust this”) (linkedin.com).

  • Promoted a mindset of “trust but verify.”

4. Automation bias is a concern

  • The authors propose an ethical framework that:

    • Centers the patient's best interest,

    • Emphasizes local model validation,

    • Encourages critical reflection to prevent over-reliance on AI (linkedin.com).


🎯 Implications for AI in Clinical Practice

  • Explainability tools (e.g., saliency maps) are nice-to-have, but not enough alone.

  • Clinicians need evidence of consistent, local model performance.

  • Embedding AI safely requires fostering clinical judgment, not bypassing it.

  • Their framework promotes trust with awareness—balancing model utility and human oversight.


🔍 Summary

A “good” AI‑supported decision in paediatric critical care involves:

  • Validated, context‑specific model performance,

  • Clinician vigilance and ongoing evaluation,

  • Ethical safeguards against automation bias.

Explainability helps—but only as support, not a foundation.


Would you like a deeper dive into the ethical framework they propose, or how this contrasts with other studies on clinician–AI interaction?

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