I frequently use Google to learn more about drugs, diseases, and conditions. I am not the only one. Studies going back more than 20 years finds health and wellness as a frequent topic of Internet searches. Google conducts about 1 billion medical-related searches per day. People are increasingly using artificial intelligence chatbots, like ChatGPT to learn things their doctors do not have time to discuss. At this point we are talking about medical information rather than medical care. Doctors are gatekeepers to care, so patients still need access to a doctor to receive treatment. But what if there was a doctor on the other end of the AI chatbot?
National Public Radio (NPR) reports on a program at Mass General Brigham (MGB) hospital called Care Connect. The following is one lady’s experience:
MacDonald downloaded the app and requested a telehealth appointment with a doctor. She then spent about 10 minutes chatting with an AI agent about why she wanted to see a doctor. Afterward, the AI tool sent a summary of the chat to a primary care doctor who could see MacDonald by video.
MGB’s Care Connect employs 12 physicians to work with the AI. They log in remotely from around the U.S., and patients can get help around the clock, seven days a week.
The catch? In Ms. MacDonald’s case primary care practices in her health plan were not accepting new patients for in-office consultations. An AI agent performing triage for a telephone consultation was all she was offered regardless of her needs. It worked fine for her but would not work for many health complaints. The physicians who work with Care Connect’s AI program are also somewhat rushed, seeing 40 to 50 patients a day. That is presumably five or six an hour, for a virtual office visit of about 10 minutes.
Mass General Brigham says the AI tool can handle patients seeking care for colds, nausea, rashes, sprains and other common urgent care requests — as well as mild to moderate mental health concerns and issues related to chronic diseases. After the patient types in a description of the symptoms or problem, the AI tool sends a doctor a suggested diagnosis and treatment plan.
AI agents assisting doctors are a productivity booster but also come with downsides depending on your perspective. A report released in August 2025 found AI tools appear to degrade the skills of doctors who rely on them.
A study published in the Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that after just three months of using an A.I. tool designed to help spot precancerous growths during colonoscopies, doctors were significantly worse at finding the growths on their own.
This is the first evidence that relying on A.I. tools might erode a doctor’s ability to perform fundamental skills without the technology, a phenomenon known as “deskilling.”
I wonder how these findings affect telemedicine, where doctors are even further removed from patient care and are mostly relying on AI recommended treatments. Will they receive feedback if the care they order turns out to be wrong? There is the question of whether it really matters? Before desktop computers ran algorithms, engineers had to perform tasks using complex formulas and calculators. Those tasks are now done by a computer. Are engineers better or worse when relying on technology, or just more productive? The same logic may apply to physicians too.
Virtual care cannot replace a personal physician. Programs like Care Connect sound great if they are part of a direct primary care experience where patients have access to both in-person and remote physician visits. There is also the question of cost. Is a consultation with an AI agent that is reviewed and approved by a physician $125 or $25. I would expect virtual consultations to be less expensive than in-person visits, but AI practices may see things differently.
Read more at NYT: Are A.I. Tools Making Doctors Worse at Their Jobs?
NPR: Your Next Primary Care Doctor Could be Online Only, Accessed Through an AI Tool
I am dealing with a chronic-pain illness right now, with a complicated regimen for home care. I use AI every day and I think it has saved me hundreds of dollars, and in general has given good advice. I fear the day when my doctors figure out what I am doing and start figuring out a way to charge for my daily AI questions.