When It Comes to AI, the Doctor Is Always In

(Illustration by Barron’s)

I often have a nagging health questions that aren’t worth scheduling a doctor’s visit to get answered.

Could this drug be keeping me up at night? Is it OK to exercise after getting vaccinated? Is it OK to take Creatine supplements?

I’ve had these sort of questions over the years and, if I remembered, I asked my doctor about them at my next visit. If I forgot to bring them up, I didn’t get my questions answered. That’s life.

Enter AI.

Despite my initial skepticism about artificial intelligence, I’ve written about how helpful it is in personal finance, and I’m writing this article to say the same about AI and health questions.

No need to schedule a visit. AI is always there and ready to talk. Many doctors have areas of expertise. My cardiologist knows a lot about the heart. My gastroenterologist knows a lot about the digestive system. And so on.

AI, by contrast, know about all areas of medicine. I went to Nigeria for two weeks, and AI told me what vaccinations I needed to get and how to minimize the chances of contracting malaria while I was over there.

I have a Nigerian fiancée, and I’m always eating her food. If I want to know about the nutrition, say, of African cuisine, AI is ready to wax on about the benefits of yams.

Who knew African yams are full of vitamins and roughage and aren’t as sugary as potatoes? Well, AI knew. Who knew that goat is way healthier than beef or chicken? AI knew. Or that Egusi soup, a one-pot dish made with ground-up melon seeds, is loaded with nutrition? AI knew.

On the other hand, am I willing to ask AI for answers to complex medical questions? No way.

Roughly a year ago, I started having episodes of atrial fibrillation, or AFib, when my heart would beat chaotically for hours. My ticker always went back to a normal rhythm eventually, but it wasn’t fun.

My cardiologist scheduled to see a electrophysiologist, who is a cardiologist specializing in the heart’s electric signaling. He did a procedure where he inserted a catheter though my groin, maneuvered it through a tiny hole into one chamber of my heart, and used pulsed electrical fields to zap the tissue that was causing the AFib. I haven’t had any episodes since then. My heart beat is completely normal.

There are times you need to hear—maybe even want to hear—the pluses and minuses of a procedure from a doctor with years of training and experience.

I’m not trusting AI on whether it’s smart to poke a tiny hole in my hear t so my doctor can blast away at supposedly nonessential heart tissue. Ain’t happening.

I went to a doctor specializing in the procedure, and got a second opinion from another specialist before I said yes to all of this. And, I’m happy to say, the procedure turned out to be no big deal.

On the other hand, if I have a bunch of questions about AFib or even about the procedure, AI knows plenty. And that goes for all subjects related to your health.

If you want to know about the benefits of exercise, AI almost surely knows more than the average doctor.

When I decided to add on to the workout I do with weights, AI told me which exercises would produce the most bang for the buck. When I suggested doing five sets of barbell shrugs and lying triceps presses instead of three, AI told me it wouldn’t make my muscles much bigger or stronger and “it creates excessive fatigue, increases injury risk, and adds ‘junk volume’ that your body can’t recover from.”

When my doctor prescribed Olmestartan to bring down my blood pressure, AI assured me the drug doesn’t usually have the unwanted side effect of sexual dysfunction that some other blood-pressure meds do. And when my cardiologist prescribed Rosuvastatin to lower my cholesterol, AI told me it was extremely unlikely it would damage my liver.

My doctors could have answered all these questions. But I get only so much times with them, and I would rather spend it on things that move the needle—not on unlikely drug side effects or fitness tips.

AI has made me a smarter patient. And part of being smarter is knowing when AI tells you an all-you-need-to-know answer—and when you need to talk to the human being in the white coat with a stethoscope.

Write to Neal Templin at neal.templin@barrons.com

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