Doctoring in the Age of AI

You’ve come to my clinic, which is state of the art

Equipped with latest technology to treat diseases of the heart

An AI-enabled bot has taken your detailed history for me

It has scanned your face, analyzed your gait and generated differentials already

Your vitals are checked without manual intervention, so is your weight on the scale

Your ECG is performed and analyzed in mind-boggling detail

An echocardiogram is done next, the scan taking minutes at best

Machine learning has enabled a report in seconds, highlighted points of interest

Using these data points, a large language model has summarized your case

Come up with plausible diagnoses and next best steps, before I see you face to face

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By the time I meet you, AI has helped formulate

A comprehensive, evidence-based template

I have to simply agree with the script, and I do not see

Any scientific or evidence-based reason to disagree

The pattern recognition is on point, the diagnosis accurate

The treatment plan is one that most guidelines corroborate

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I walk into the room, introducing myself with a smile

I ask you some questions and in a short while

I have realized the comprehensive treatment plan I (and AI) had in mind

Would not work- because the treatment is not aligned

With your personal goals, your values, your worldview

I cannot prescribe you treatment without understanding you

To try to understand you, I have had to read between the lines

If I simply give you recommendations, it is likely they would be declined

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I know the treatment would work, so my powers of persuasion I use

Eventually, you meet me halfway, you choose

Some of the steps in the treatment plan previously outlined

Some others in strong conflict with your beliefs you find

We end by bonding over parenting woes

The highs of raising children, and the lows

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At the next visit, my AI-assistant tells me your health parameters are better than before

But I am skeptical until I walk in the door

You greet me enthusiastically, saying you’re better by a hundred percent

(AI told me there was a twenty percent improvement)

The previously declined steps in your proposed treatment

You are now more than ready to implement

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I leave the room with a smile-while AI had helped me devise

A flawless treatment plan, it would not have been realized

If your trust as your physician I had been unable to gain

The art of practicing medicine lies squarely in the human domain