Our greatest strength is also our greatest weakness
I’ve heard this above quote by a minister, a writing instructor, and by a nationally recognized public speaker. After reading a sample of The AI Revolution in Medicine by Peter Lee, Carey Goldberg, and Dr. Isaac Kohane, Pediatric Endocrinologist, I too want to say it out loud.
M.K. thanks for the email and the suggestion to take a peek at this material.
I also want to thank Shakespeare before going further because what he said was ‘Your greatest strength begets your greatest weakness.’ Um hmm, begets, as in gives rise to, brings about, and that’s what technology has done, brought speed, efficiency, access to more knowledge, and all the foibles that come with it.
In my opinion, ChatGPT language model is the star of the book, but fairly not portrayed as a spotless protagonist. The potential opportunities for gains along with risks are equally outlined. Being a nurse, some of the technical language is out of my wheel house. I had a negative reaction to the idea that it could empower patients. Our geriatric population is growing and from my experience as a healthcare provider, I can tell you, the percent of the ‘over 70’ patients comfortable with just the current technology practices for things as simple as checking in online for an appointment, eh, it’s not great. There are also the outliers like my mom, (who just rounded the corner into her eighties) who Google everything they can from lab results and printouts from MD offices!
You put enough patient data in, yes, ChatGPT does appear to be the hero, a timesaver magnum opus.
I also agree 100% with the authors believe that healthcare administrative duties can be significantly reduces. I know all my nursing friends would be on board with that! Will or should it replace us, a breed already dwindling down? Who knows, the nursing world is getting quite shaken up lately.
I do believe that ChatGPT will improve differential diagnoses. Misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, and delayed diagnosis are some of the most common types of medical errors. There are way too many sad stories of patients waiting months for appointments, then more time for diagnostic testing, then return visits, only to find out they have a complicated medical problem further along then realized.
Will it educate physicians and nurses on empathy, nuance, and context, in this case, the whole patient — as of now, I don’t believe it will.
I think this is a great read for a specific breed of healthcare professionals.
I’m just not one of them.