AI assists patient with chronic back pain
A tech reporter turned to Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, for help with persistent back pain when medical treatments failed. While the AI offered support and exercise suggestions, experts caution about its limitations.
A technology reporter sought assistance from Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, after medical interventions proved ineffective for debilitating back pain.
The reporter, experiencing severe nighttime pain and finding prescribed medications ineffective, utilized Gemini for daily check-ins, exercise recommendations, medication tracking, and simplified explanations of medical terminology.
The use of AI for health advice is increasing, with a KFF study indicating that one-third of adults, and 42% of those under 30, now turn to AI for health information. This trend emerges despite AI's past inaccuracies.
Physician Gaurav Mathur believes AI can empower patients, comparing its utility to online searches for health information. He is developing an AI health app, Health-GPT, to help patients prepare for appointments by organizing and explaining their medical records.
However, Monica Agrawal, a bioinformatics professor at Duke University, warns that AI chatbots may not recognize critical warning signs as effectively as human doctors. She highlights that AI's desire to please users can lead to reinforcing false beliefs, and the lack of personal health history can result in overly general advice, unlike a physician's tailored approach based on a patient's complete medical background.