Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

AI vs. human doctors: Why patients prefer the real thing

Jeanne Sandella, DO
Tech
April 21, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

In a Black Mirror-esque video I watched recently on YouTube, a young man with a persistent cough notices a booth labeled “Instant Doctor” as he’s waiting in a train station, and decides to give it a try. The somewhat pleasant robot voice immediately recognizes him and dutifully (creepily?) reads off his age, height, and weight. She then tells him he has two diagnoses: the first, a mild bronchial infection, is treated easily with a medicated mist, delivered right there in the little doctor pod. Pretty cool. He feels great.

The second, however, is far worse: metastatic glioblastoma multiforme, a brain tumor. The robot voice then helpfully informs him that his life expectancy has been updated to reflect this diagnosis, and he has about eight months left to live. But not to worry, they are sending him information about palliative care referrals. Oh, and they also took care of notifying his loved ones … via Tik Tok.

All the access to all the data in the world cannot make someone (or something) a good physician; only humanity can do that.

The recent conversation around ChatGPT passing a physician licensing examination has led those of us in the medical education and licensure world to consider how artificial intelligence (AI) could (and will) affect the way we teach and train physicians, and the way we assess their readiness to see patients.

Osteopathic physicians (DOs) have their own set of licensure exams, called the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States (COMLEX-USA), which assesses the competency of osteopathic medical students and recent DO graduates. The exam is designed through the lens of the osteopathic philosophy, which looks at the patient as a whole person, rather than a collection of symptoms, and is based on four main tenets.

The first tenet places an emphasis on the connection of the body, mind, and spirit, and that last part –the focus on spirit–is where AI loses out;  osteopathic physicians are trained in patient-first care, taking into account many different factors that could be contributing to a patient’s condition. You only learn that from building a rapport with your patient: learning their spirit, allowing them to voice their concerns and to become a partner in their own health maintenance.

In the scenario above, the patient is given a diagnosis, and then sent on his way with no support or comfort. No humanity.

That’s not just me talking as a physician; research has shown that patients want a connection with their physician. One study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found that according to patients, the ideal physician is someone who is confident, empathetic, humane, personal, forthright, respectful, and thorough. While AI might have the respectful and thorough parts covered, those first five characteristics are something only a human can truly embody.

Even Ansible Health, a company who is currently using ChatGPT to help explain certain COPD concepts to patients, says it needs a trained, human professional to review the AI platform’s work.

That said, there is certainly a place for AI in health care; there are a multitude of possibilities for diagnostic assistance; for tracking standards of care; for people who have a difficult time accessing a physician; for maintaining wellness; for making sure medications are taken on time and correctly; and for making sure that care is seamless between providers; and many more.

AI could be of particular use to primary care providers who are often bogged down with more administrative tasks than their peers, and could free them to make more time for patient care. For humanity; the art of medicine.

But even though AI could give a patient a diagnosis, there would be no humanity behind it. No way to comfort a patient, to carefully walk them through treatment options, help them make an individualized decision about how to choose the right one for them, or to listen to their concerns. Simply put: there is no substitution for the real thing.

Jeanne Sandella is a family physician.

ADVERTISEMENT

Prev

Medicine and history: a seemingly unlikely but necessary duo in understanding COVID-19 disparities 

April 21, 2023 Kevin 0
…
Next

The current political climate is leaving youth and their physicians behind

April 21, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Health IT, Primary Care

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Medicine and history: a seemingly unlikely but necessary duo in understanding COVID-19 disparities 
Next Post >
The current political climate is leaving youth and their physicians behind

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Doctors and patients should be wary of health care mega-mergers

    Linda Girgis, MD
  • Direct primary care: Great for some doctors, but challenging for patients

    Ken Terry
  • Doctors and patients continue to search through the overgrown forest of corporate health care

    Michele Luckenbaugh
  • Lawmakers don’t care for our patients. Doctors do.

    Joanna Bisgrove, MD
  • Why social media may be causing real emotional harm

    Edwin Leap, MD
  • We are warriors: doctors and patients

    Michele Luckenbaugh

More in Tech

  • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care

    Sandra Johnson
  • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

    David Carmouche, MD
  • Why innovation in health care starts with bold thinking

    Miguel Villagra, MD
  • How self-improving AI systems are redefining intelligence and what it means for health care

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • How blockchain could rescue nursing home patients from deadly miscommunication

    Adwait Chafale
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why being a physician mom is harder than anyone admits

      Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH | Physician
    • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

      Sarah White, APRN | Education
    • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

      Benjamin Cohen, MD | Conditions
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
    • Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure

      David Carmouche, MD | Tech
    • How the 10th Apple Effect is stealing your joy in medicine

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

      Ilan Shapiro, MD | Policy
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Make cognitive testing as routine as a blood pressure check

      Joshua Baker and James Jackson, PsyD | Conditions
    • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

      Carlin Lockwood | Policy
    • The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care

      Shashank Madhu and Christian Tallo | Education
    • How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why being a physician mom is harder than anyone admits

      Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH | Physician
    • 9 domains that will define the future of medical education

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Tech
    • When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing

      Pearl Jones, MD | Conditions
    • What led me from nurse practitioner to medical school

      Sarah White, APRN | Education
    • Why local cardiac CT scans could save your life

      Benjamin Cohen, MD | Conditions
    • Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...