AI in Healthcare: Enhancing Patient Understanding

Although many patients find AI helpful for understanding medical information, experts caution about potential inaccuracies and privacy risks, urging careful use and verification of AI-generated responses.

This information is current as of the date of original publication or update. It may have changed by the time you read this. I invite you to fact-check what you read here.

This information is not intended for diagnosis or treatment. Before making health decisions, discuss with your physician or other qualified healthcare provider to decide what is right for you.

I recently had a medical procedure and when the results came into my patient portal, I logged in to read the results. The diagnosis was something I don’t have much professional experience with, so I did what many patients to with their medical information. I went online and searched for information.

Although this time I didn’t stop with a search engine. I used an AI assistant and was amazed at how easy it was not only to read information but also to ask questions and receive an answer. It even suggested additional resources and next steps.

Then I found this article on KFF indicating that I am not alone. And probably many of you have already used AI for this and other purposed. So I am sharing it here.

An AI Assistant Can Interpret Those Lab Results for You

(Edited for readability and length.)

written by Kate Ruder, September 15, 2025

When Judith Miller had routine blood work done in July, she got a phone alert the same day that her lab results were posted online. So, when her doctor messaged her the next day that her overall tests were fine, Miller wrote back to ask about the elevated carbon dioxide and low anion gap listed in the report.

While the 76-year-old Milwaukee resident waited to hear back, Miller did something patients increasingly do when they can’t reach their health care team. She put her test results into Claude and asked the AI assistant to evaluate the data.

Medical Records plus AI equals Understanding

“Claude helped give me a clear understanding of the abnormalities,” Miller said. The generative AI model didn’t report anything alarming, so she wasn’t anxious while waiting to hear back from her doctor, she said.

Patients have unprecedented access to their medical records, often through online patient portals such as MyChart. Federal law requires health organizations to immediately release electronic health information, such as notes on doctor visits and test results.

A study published in 2023 found that 96% of patients surveyed want immediate access to their records, even if their provider hasn’t reviewed them.

And many patients are using large language models, or LLMs, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini, to interpret their records.

Use AI for Health Cautiously

That help comes with some risk, though. Physicians and patient advocates warn that AI chatbots can produce wrong answers and that sensitive medical information might not remain private.

Yet, most adults are cautious about AI and health. Fifty-six percent of those who use or interact with AI are not confident that information provided by AI chatbots is accurate, according to a 2024 KFF poll. (KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.)

“LLMs are theoretically very powerful and they can give great advice, but they can also give truly terrible advice depending on how they’re prompted,”
Adam Rodman, internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Adam Rodman Is an internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Massachusetts and the chair of a steering group on generative AI at Harvard Medical School.

Justin Honce, a neuroradiologist at UCHealth in Colorado, said it can be very difficult for patients who are not medically trained to know whether AI chatbots make mistakes.

“Ultimately, it’s just the need for caution overall with LLMs. With the latest models, these concerns are continuing to get less and less of an issue but have not been entirely resolved,” Honce said.

Rodman has seen a surge in AI use among his patients in the past six months. In one case, a patient took a screenshot of his hospital lab results on MyChart then uploaded them to ChatGPT to prepare questions ahead of his appointment.

Rodman said he welcomes patients’ showing him how they use AI, and that their research creates an opportunity for discussion.

Roughly 1 in 7 adults over 50 use AI to receive health information, according to a recent poll from the University of Michigan, while 1 in 4 adults under age 30 do so, according to the KFF poll.

Should AI Give Medical Advice?

Using the internet to advocate for better care for oneself isn’t new. Patients have traditionally used websites such as WebMD, PubMed, or Google to search for the latest research and have sought advice from other patients on social media platforms like Facebook or Reddit.

But AI chatbots’ ability to generate personalized recommendations or second opinions in seconds is novel.

Liz Salmi, communications and patient initiatives director at OpenNotes, an academic lab at Beth Israel Deaconess that advocates for transparency in health care, had wondered how good AI is at interpretation, specifically for patients.

In a proof-of-concept study published this year, Salmi and colleagues analyzed the accuracy of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini responses to patients’ questions about a clinical note. All three AI models performed well, but how patients framed their questions mattered, Salmi said

For example, telling the AI chatbot to take on the persona of a clinician and asking it one question at a time improved the accuracy of its responses.

Are Medical Records Private with AI?

Privacy is a concern, Salmi said, so it’s critical to remove personal information like your name or Social Security number from prompts. Data goes directly to tech companies that have developed AI models, Rodman said, adding that he is not aware of any that comply with federal privacy law or consider patient safety

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, warned on a podcast last month about putting personal information into ChatGPT.

“Many people who are new to using large language models might not know about hallucinations,” Salmi said, referring to a response that may appear sensible but is inaccurate.

For example, OpenAI’s Whisper, an AI-assisted transcription tool used in hospitals, introduced an imaginary medical treatment into a transcript, according to a report by The Associated Press.

Using generative AI demands a new type of digital health literacy that includes asking questions in a particular way, verifying responses with other AI models, talking to your health care team, and protecting your privacy online, said Salmi and Dave deBronkart, a cancer survivor and patient advocate who writes a blog devoted to patients’ use of AI.

Can AI help physicians communicate results?

Patients aren’t the only ones using AI to explain test results. Stanford Health Care has launched an AI assistant that helps its physicians draft interpretations of clinical tests and lab results to send to patients.

Colorado researchers studied the accuracy of ChatGPT-generated summaries of 30 radiology reports, along with four patients’ satisfaction with them. Of the 118 valid responses from patients, 108 indicated the ChatGPT summaries clarified details about the original report.

But ChatGPT sometimes overemphasized or underemphasized findings, and a small but significant number of responses indicated patients were more confused after reading the summaries, said Honce, who participated in the preprint study.

Meanwhile, after four weeks and a couple of follow-up messages from Miller in MyChart, Miller’s doctor ordered a repeat of her blood work and an additional test that Miller suggested. The results came back normal.

Miller was relieved and said she was better informed because of her AI inquiries.

“It’s a very important tool in that regard,” Miller said. “It helps me organize my questions and do my research and level the playing field.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

Subscribe to KFF Health News’ free Morning Briefing.

This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This article also appeared on NPR.ORG.

AI in Medical Education

I graduated from college, medical school, and residency without using a computer for training or patient care. When computers and the internet came into widespread use, medical education and medical practice changed to embrace that new technology.

Now AI is doing the same thing. Here you can learn how Harvard Medical School is building artificial intelligence into the curriculum to train the next generation of doctors.

Reader Reflection and Response

I hope you have learned something new in this post, or it confirms something you already knew.

How are you using technology to manage your healthcare? Do you use options such as

health record portals
online scheduling
video visits
internet search for medical information, with or without AI

Were you aware that doctors are using AI to create office notes and result summaries?

What concerns do you have about the value and safety of using AI in healthcare? What else do you need to know or want to learn about AI use ?

Cover Image

The cover image was created by the Jetpack AI Assistant from Automatic, Inc.

Exploring the HEART of Health

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Medical stethoscope and heart on a textured background

Dr Aletha

Maximizing Doctor Visits: Essential Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Effective communication with your doctor is crucial for your health. Asking specific questions and taking notes are key. Understand medical terms, ask for clarification if needed. Learn about your health and seek reliable resources. Communication is vital for your well-being.

Do you leave a visit with your doctor knowing exactly what she said and what to do next? Or do you leave clueless or confused?

Whichever the case, connecting with your doctor is essential to communicating with your doctor. That’s why I wrote this post.

3 keys to effective communication with your doctor

This post addresses practical aspects of exchanging information with doctors- remember, exchange means giving something and receiving something in return.

doctor talking to a woman — photo compliments American Academy of Family Physicians

Ask questions

Doctors want to give patients the information they need and most of the time believe they have done so. We are surprised when patients come back and say we didn’t explain their problem and its treatment, or they didn’t understand what we told them about it. I think this happens for 2 reasons.

We doctors tell patients what we think is important, but it may not be what you the patient or family consider most important.
After patients hear part of what we say, they get saturated and don’t hear the rest, especially when it is emotionally charged.

That’s why it is so important for patients and families to ask questions; don’t just rely on what the doctors volunteer. What is important to them may not be what is most important to you. The more specific questions you ask, the more detailed the information you receive will be.

one question you should always ask at each visit

“What is the most important problem today, and what is the next step in treating it?”

The most important problem that the doctor finds may not be what you thought. If you came with multiple problems, the most important may not be the one that seemed most urgent to you.

and the answer you need to know at each visit

For example, you may go to an emergency facility for an injury that caused a cut on your leg that needs stitches. This is an urgent problem that needs to be treated. But the doctor finds that you have high blood pressure that you didn’t know about.

High blood pressure can lead to heart failure and stroke if left untreated. So the doctor will instruct you to see your primary care doctor for follow-up of the blood pressure, as well as the gash in your leg.

For your long-term health, high blood pressure is your most important problem today.

Otherwise these unexpected problems can get lost if you and the doctor only communicate about the urgent problem and what happens next with it.

It is important to control blood pressure — High blood pressure can cause a heart attack.

questions, questions, questions

You will get more helpful information from your doctor if your questions are as specific as you can ask; always inquire about how tests and procedures will affect your treatment and recovery. Here are some examples-

What did the x-ray show and what does it mean for my problem?
What was the blood test result and will it change my treatment?
How will this procedure change my condition?
What needs to happen before we move to the next step?

Write important things down.

Questions that you want to ask. Information that the doctors need. Answers to the questions. Refer to it each time you speak with the doctors.

Questions after a hospital stay

When you or a loved one is in the hospital, your main concern is going home. When the time comes to be discharged, it is just as important to ask questions and understand the plan as during the illness.

I have had patients return to my office after a hospital stay unable to give me any information about their illness and care. Important information to know include

What problems were treated during this admission and how did they change?
What will we need to do at home to continue the recovery?
When do we need to see a doctor and which doctor do we see?
What medications will I need to be on when I go home?

Hospitals must give patients and their families written instructions for aftercare when discharged. And with electronic medical records, doctors have easier access to their patients’ hospital records.

Understanding your doctor– medical jargon may not be the problem

Doctors are being encouraged and taught to use “plain language” when talking to patients, meaning limiting the use of medical jargon. I agree that a string of highly technical terms makes communication harder.

But simply using plain words does not guarantee understanding. Whatever terms you use to exchange information must be understood by both persons. And that is not always the case.

Here’s an example.

If a doctor says that you or a relative has had a Myocardial infarction, do you know that that means a Heart attack?

But, do you know exactly what heart attack means? Probably not.

What causes heart disease? — A heart attack means the heart muscle is injured from too little oxygen reaching it, usually due to blockage in the arteries.

So, if the doctor says “heart attack” without adding any additional information, you should ask

“I understand a heart attack to mean ________. Is this correct?”
“I do not understand what a heart attack is. Please explain.”

Learning the language

How many new things have you learned in the past 5 years? Each had a vocabulary and instructions that you learned and now use regularly. Think of your first computer, smartphone, tablet, camera, or even a coffee maker. You make the effort to learn what is important to you .

Learn about your and your family’s medical issues; even if you don’t understand it completely, your doctor will appreciate that you are trying.

Besides doctors, you have nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, physical therapists, social workers who can answer questions. Ask for referrals to community resources.

There are helpful resources on the Internet so anyone with a laptop, tablet, or smartphone can access medical information anywhere anytime. Just be sure you are using reliable sources.

Learn the basics of medical terminology here-access it online or download the PDF

Understanding Medical Words: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine

This tutorial teaches you about medical words. You’ll learn how parts of medical words are put together. You’ll also find quizzes to check what you’ve learned.

Tutorial_Understanding_Medical_Words Download

Find the meaning of medical words and terms here

A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies.

rhinoceros — It’s easy to remember that “rhino” refers to the nose, as in rhinosinusitis.

Also on this topic, my previous post

Tips for Talking to Your Doctor

exploring the HEART of HEALTH communication