Collective Intelligence & Codified Rules

I am currently making my way through Jerome Groopman's How Doctors Think, and so far I am very impressed. It's a highly recommended read.

Throughout the early part of the book (as I am only 3 hours in via audio CD), Dr. Groopman supports his hypotheses with anecdotes that describe, often in profound detail, how a particular doctor behaved when confronted with an ill patient. What's interesting is that his analysis is just that: a series of personal anecdotes. He presents very little in the way of hard facts, numbers, and data. At least so far, his conclusions have been anecdote-driven, rather than data-driven.

This comes as no surprise, as Dana Blankenhorn observes:

"Under the current system a doctor uses their own instincts, and their own reading of the literature, deciding independently whether to follow the latest guidelines and directives or not.

What Klepper and Kibbe want to do is make this doctor-patient interaction routine, but also set down what doctors should do, based on an immense body of evidence rather than what any doctor might see in their own practice."

In these statements, Mr. Blankenhorn, whose blog provides consistent insight into all facets of health IT, really drives home the importance of decision support systems at the point of care. Using our collective intelligence, codified in a series of automated rules and treatment guidelines, will be able to move away from our reliance on anecdotes? Is it only a matter of time?