Friendly family GP has got competition

Every time I water the bougainvillea near the compound wall, my next-door neighbor will lean over for some medical advice. But many people who used to visit the friendly family physician for their health issues, have nowadays replaced their GP with ChatGPT: “I have a headache doctor – I’m sure I have cancer. I’m wondering whether I should do an MRI or plan directly for brain surgery?” I dread the day when instead of depending on a doctor for a second opinion after self-diagnosis, patients will do their own surgery after watching a neurosurgeon on YouTube. And I gently suggest to Hypochondriac Harish that he get his eyes checked before making a spectacle of himself. AI in healthcare is like the Indian politician – jumping to conclusions but completely lacking in vision. 

AI is making its presence felt in every field and in healthcare it’s promising incredible things. Imagine that as soon as the patient sits on a sofa in the doctor’s waiting room, the seat will record weight, body fat percentage, and potential need for hip replacement. A visit to the restroom will be even more informative – it will reveal blood sugar, cholesterol, and an untreated infection from the last trip to Bangkok. AI will help you order cheese-burst pizza as you wait and inform the doctor that your diet is contributing to your clogged coronaries. Your X-ray will reveal more than your fractured femur – it will also alert the I-T cell about your stash of cash in Cayman Islands. 

But what the patient will find lacking is the human touch – empathy and emotional intelligence. Recognising from non-verbal clues the stress that is causing the backache from a 70-hour week.  The friendly neighbourhood doctor hearing the tremor in the voice of an ageing parent and picking up the depression of loneliness and old age. Even though the patient jokes that no one can read the doctor’s handwriting, the doctor is reading more than the average patient expresses in words. Like the viral video of Pedestrian Prabhavathi in Kozhikode, we need the doctor to firmly re-direct the patient onto the right path. 

If you’ve already made a diagnosis, then why do you need a doctor, I asked Harish. It’s because we need someone to blame when things go wrong – we can’t possibly beat up a computer. AIyyo!

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