Do you ever look at the “patient visit” notes that are available on your patient portal—the internet site that displays information about your visits with the medical establishment? Sometimes I do. As I learned from alert reader George—who sent me an article written by a doctor—those notes may be created by AI. A busy doctor may not take the time to review the notes and correct them.
Here’s a (rather extreme) story the doctor recounts about one
AI-generated report: A patient came in for a routine visit, which consisted of
a recitation of aches and pains and a review of recent blood work and
other regular tests. AI created a report stating that the patient was on dialysis; that he had a congenital defect affecting his kidneys; that
he had recently been septic; and that he was unable to drive because
of cataracts. None of this was true. Had the doctor signed this and had it gone into the
patient’s chart, the ramifications could be serious. For example, if the
patient applies for anything such as life insurance, his application would be denied.
The AI “time saver” may actually take more time for those conscientious
doctors who must dig through the notes looking for mistakes. Furthermore, some
of these reports, he writes, can run to five or six pages of “gobbledy gook
with important data scattered all over the place.”
In my case, I looked up my “patient visit” notes of a pre-op
appointment prior to getting steroid injections to treat a pinched nerve in my
spine (which didn’t work). The report says that I complain of “low back and
right leg pain. Pain is described as spasms/cramps." I never said I had
low back pain and never said the pain is spasms or cramps (I had neither). I
recognize that this is small potatoes, but to me it illustrates: 1) that the physician’s
assistant wasn’t paying attention and wrote down other people’s complaints; or
2) that the report was generated by AI. Incidentally, I’ve found that these visit notes often begin by saying that I’m “pleasant.” I think they do this so
you won’t complain.
For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.
Much to think about - it is especially important to check your files! Thank you Connie!
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