Mass General Brigham has turned to artificial intelligence to address a critical shortage of primary care doctors, launching an AI app that questions patients, reviews medical records, and produces a list of potential diagnoses.
Called “Care Connect,” the platform was launched on Sept. 9 for the 15,000 MGB patients without a primary care doctor. A chatbot that is available 24/7 interviews the patient, then sets up a telehealth appointment with a physician in as little as half an hour. MGB is among the first health care systems nationally to roll out the app.
Several primary care doctors at MGB, however, described AI as a sideshow, a distraction from what they contend is the real solution to the shortage: providing the pay and working conditions that will attract more primary care physicians to the state’s largest health system and keep them from leaving.
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