BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – Even as AI becomes increasingly common in health care, doctors say patients shouldn’t rely on it to diagnose themselves.
Dr. Amit Momaya, an orthopedic surgeon at UAB Hospital, told WBRC’s Russell Jones Saturday that they just don’t know how accurate AI is because it’s still so new.
That doesn’t mean it can’t be a good tool, though.
“It can be great to figure out a list of questions to ask your healthcare provider or provide a second opinion or upload a report, say, perhaps, ‘Who should I seek out to help me treat this?’” Momaya said. “I think patients should not use it as a primary source, but maybe to augment their health care.”
It’s not just patients that can benefit from AI’s growing capabilities, according to Momaya, who said he is in favor of having it in his own office for a number of reasons.
“So AI traditionally, right now, in our practice is used for scribing to give us more time with the patient,” he said. “We’re not replacing the diagnoses with AI or anything like that, but I think in the future it will help augment us.
By helping transcribe notes, doctors are able to spend more face-to-face time with patients, getting back to the elements, as Momaya called it.
As its capabilities continue to grow, he believes AI will be more valuable to doctors as they look for the best possible treatment options.
“When a radiologist, for example, looks at a scan, can AI help us alert a unique case where there may be cancer that could be missed otherwise?” he said. “It helps augment and support us and make sure we don’t miss anything.”
As long as there are safeguards and it is used appropriately, Momaya believes AI could continue to be used in new ways in the health care field.
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