Diagnostic scope: the AI can't see what the mind doesn't know

Diagnostic scope is the range of diagnoses found in a clinical setting. Although the diagnostic scope is an essential feature of training and evaluating artificial intelligence (AI) systems to promote diagnostic excellence, its impact on AI systems and the diagnostic process remains under-explored.

We define the concept of diagnostic scope, discuss its nuanced role in building safe and effective AI-based diagnostic decision support systems, review current challenges to measurement and use, and highlight knowledge gaps for future research.

The diagnostic scope parallels the differential diagnosis although the latter is at the level of an encounter and the former is at the level of a clinical setting. Therefore, diagnostic scope will vary by local characteristics including geography, population, and resources. The true, observed, and considered scope in each setting may also diverge, both posing challenges for clinicians, patients, and AI developers, while also highlighting opportunities to improve safety. Further work is needed to systematically define and measure diagnostic scope in terms that are accurate, equitable, and meaningful at the bedside. AI tools tailored to a particular setting, such as a primary care clinic or intensive care unit, will each require specifying and measuring the appropriate diagnostic scope.

AI tools will promote diagnostic excellence if they are aligned with patient and clinician needs and trained on an accurately measured diagnostic scope. A careful understanding and rigorous evaluation of the diagnostic scope in each clinical setting will promote optimal care through human-AI collaborations in the diagnostic process.