The Internet has done more to increase the average person’s medical knowledge than anything else I can imagine. Health information is popular. There are more than 1 billion medical searches per day on Google. Before the Internet most patients got medical information directly from their doctors or perhaps turned to medical encyclopedias if they wanted to know more. A few minutes spent on the Internet can convey more information about your condition than your doctor would ever have time to teach you.
Twenty-five years ago, many physicians worried that patients would show up at their doctor’s visit armed with a ream of printouts that the doctor would have to discuss, taking up valuable time. Journal articles and opinion pieces worried about misinformation, bad information or information taken out of context. However, the Internet is filled with medical information from reputable sources. It only took a few years for the medical establishment to admit that an informed patient is a good patient.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the next step in medical knowledge. AI provides health information quicker and more comprehensive than mere Google searches. A few minutes with an AI chatbot can summarize information from a variety of sources. It’s usually high quality but the details matter. When I use AI, I’m always careful to explore the source documents, because sometimes AI is confused by your queries or quotes information that is out of context.
Many doctors preferred being the gate keeper of test results so they could add context, but federal law requires that patients have access to their test results quickly. The Wall Street Journal ran an article titled, Doctors Don’t Want Patients to Read Test Results With AI. They’re Doing It Anyway. Doctors are skeptical of patients turning to AI. Condensing their knowledge into a readily accessible computer interface is both threatening as well as potentially harmful. Yet, patients want to use AI as a second opinion, and often a first option using technology to learn more about their conditions.
I recently had a colonoscopy and upper GI. My doctor gave my wife a 20 second explanation of what he found when I was rolled into recovery. He also transcribed maybe 30 words on a patient report, complete with a diagram and images inside my colon. To really find out what it all means I will need to schedule a (discounted) $125 post care visit just to spend 15 minutes discussing my case. I will decide whether to schedule a follow-up visit depending on findings from the pathology report. My doctor is attentive. but he’s also very busy. Such is the nature of how we pay for medical care in the United States. Nearly gone are the days when doctors worked for themselves. Doctors work for hospitals, practice owned by private equity, and insurers. They look to these entities for payment substantially raising their overhead. Patients became a throughput.
To fill the knowledge gaps and assess information faster, patients often turn to AI chatbots because they can get the results before seeing their doctors. In other cases, they want a second opinion. Jason Goldman, a Florida internist, told WSJ:
“I’ll give them a recommendation and they’ll say, ‘Let me go ask AI,’ and I’m like, ‘Then why are you here?’” Goldman said.
Yet, patients don’t want AI to replace their doctors. They still want a human face in front of them during medical consultations. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health News reports that rural patients are leery of efforts to boost AI for rural health care, writing:
“I get artificial intelligence for certain things, but for personal healthcare — no,” Tara Haffner said while standing outside the American Legion.
Haffner said she’s worried about AI making mistakes and wants healthcare to stay between her and her doctor.
I do not believe rural residents will have a choice. Doctors increasingly do not want to work in rural areas due to a lack of cultural activities, shopping, peer support and many of the other reasons why rural areas are being depopulated. The AI boom is coming to rural areas in many forms, from help recording physician visits, to transcribing notes, to scheduling visits. AI and telemedicine will likely work hand-in-hand in rural areas. Medical experts argue that AI consultations are not ready for prime time, but patients are using them anyway. But they still want a human doctor.
Read more at: Doctors Don’t Want Patients to Read Test Results With AI. They’re Doing It Anyway.
KFF Health News: Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution