PrepTest 110, Section 3, Question 7
Dr. Jones: The new technology dubbed "telemedicine" will(113 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- Awhether medical specialists(8 more words not shown)
- Bwhether telemedicine technology(11 more words not shown)
- Cwhether telemedicine is(11 more words not shown)
- Dwhether the patients(15 more words not shown)
- Ewhether the technology(10 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Getting advice from a distant specialist sounds useful. Imagine a patient in rural Alaska whose specialist is in New York. Letting a local physician share the examination could make advice available without requiring that long trip.
Does that solve every problem? No. A remote specialist might not be able to do everything that an in-person visit allows. But Dr. Jones doesn't promise perfection. The claim is a sustained improvement in rural care, and better access to specialist advice gives us a reason to expect a benefit.
Dr. Carabella allows that there might be an initial benefit. The worry is what hospitals do next: save money by replacing physicians with technicians, then give fewer patients direct examinations and personal attention. I would want evidence that hospitals will actually respond that way. For now, though, I can follow the predicted harm.
What we’re looking for
The disagreement concerns what happens in the long run. Jones expects the improvement to last. Carabella expects the eventual loss of direct care to make patient care worse. Both discuss rural patients, so that's where we can pin down their opposing answers.
Working the answers
- A
Jones says specialists can provide advice a rural patient otherwise wouldn't receive. That isn't a general claim that specialists give better advice than rural physicians. Carabella also doesn't argue that specialist advice is inferior. The disagreement concerns the overall effects of telemedicine.
- B
Jones focuses on rural care but never says telemedicine will be installed only in rural facilities. Carabella's reference to urban care therefore doesn't contradict a position Jones has stated. Mentioning one setting doesn't rule out every other setting.
- C
Their arguments are compatible with telemedicine becoming widespread. In fact, Carabella's worry depends on hospitals making substantial use of it. The disagreement is about whether that use helps patients over time, not simply whether it will occur.
- D
Neither speaker identifies which patients have the greatest need or tells us how specialist access will be distributed among patients. Jones expects access to improve, while Carabella worries about personal attention. We can't turn that into opposite claims about whether the neediest patients will receive advice.
- ECorrect
Jones predicts sustained improvement in rural patient care, so Jones answers yes: rural patients will benefit over the long run. Carabella allows an initial improvement but predicts that rural care will eventually suffer. That's a no to the same long-term question. The timing matters because an early benefit is something the speakers could agree on.
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