A post by the Lown Institute asks whether AI (artificial intelligence) could replace your doctors and provide you with as good or better medical advice? It picks up on a JAMA Internal Medicine article reporting that AI chatbox answered patient questions better than many doctors, with regard to content and empathy.
The JAMA article actually found that AI chatbox offered as much as ten times more empathy than your typical doctor. And, empathy is actually a critical component of treatment, though our health care system tends not to value it.
The researchers studied AI responses to 195 random patient questions found on social media. Then, the AI answers were compared with those of doctors. Licensed health care professionals preferred the AI answers to those of the doctors.
But, can AI really build trust with patients? It can’t replace the personal connection people have with their doctors. How could it?
At the same time, doctors are generally pressed for time. It’s hard for them to be compassionate when they are typically in a rush. They often cannot offer quality time to their patients; they might feel bad about their conduct, while possibly harming patient well-being.
The question becomes whether AI could offer a good support for patients in tandem with their doctors. It could supplement the care that doctors provide, even if it could never take the place of doctors.
AI could help to deliver care that is empathic. AI also can help doctors with administrative tasks so that doctors have more time with patients. And, AI can answer some medical questions.
Here’s more from Just Care:
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