A woman from Perth, Australia, was left astonished after discovering that her doctor was using ChatGPT – the popular AI chatbot developed by OpenAI – to treat her. The woman shared her experience on Reddit, saying that she had visited the doctor to receive her test results but was left in disbelief after witnessing the doctor pasting information from the AI tool.

“Never felt like I was sat in front of a stupid doctor till now,” she wrote in a lengthy post.

“Feels like peak laziness, stupidity, and inaccurate medical advice.”

The woman revealed that her doctor copied her blood test results into ChatGPT, along with her age, seeking suggestions on what needed to be done next. She admitted that doctors sometimes rely on Google; however, she felt this “crossed a line.”

Knowing that doctors sometimes refer to Google or medical journals during appointments, the woman couldn’t help but wonder -Is this normal?

She has reportedly filed a complaint with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and will also be taking the issue to the Health and Disability Services Complaints Office.
 

‘Does AI have place in medicine?’

Commenters on the post agreed with the poster wholeheartedly, expressing concerns about the legitimacy of an AI diagnosis.

According to Aussie GP Sam Hay – a doctor, sometimes, it might sometimes be warranted.

“Does AI have a place in medicine? I think it does… in the right hands!” he told Kidspot.

“Any web-based search tool has its uses for doctors as a means of quickly finding information and facts. I use them daily, including in front of patients. But, and it’s a big but, you have to know how to trust the information that’s thrown up.”

Sam added that it’s for this reason that it’s so important to find a doctor that you trust.

“For me, it’s all about using reliable resources from reputable sources – which means I have to filter through those that are clearly gimmicks and advertisements. Is every doctor doing that? No, I don’t think so – and that’s why you have to do your research and develop relationships with a doctor you can communicate and relate to,” he said.

“When it comes to ChatGPT-like engines, once again, they can be used to guide a doctor and offer suggestions — basically to help us ‘not miss anything’ rather than ‘provide the diagnosis without thinking.

“Your doctor should be ensuring any engine is including recent evidence, reputable sources, and industry standard guidelines. And nothing replaces clinical assessment — the skill is knowing how to interpret what ChatGPT throws up for the patient in front of me!”