Do you think Google or Chatgpt can replace the visit to the doctor? More and more Romanians are looking for diagnoses and treatments online, but doctors are an alarm signal: what seems like a quick solution can become a real danger. Wrong diagnoses and risky treatments can be transformed into tragedies.
Chatgpt Ai. Photo shutterstock
In an era in which technology offers instant answers to any question, many Romanians call on the Internet or even artificial intelligence, such as Chatgpt, for medical advice. But doctors warn: the guided self -medication of incomplete or wrong information can endanger life.
Internet – friend or enemy?
“Google doctor” has already become a phenomenon. Instead of consulting a specialist, many patients are looking for symptoms on the Internet and set their own treatment. The consequences can be dramatic: delays in diagnosis, inappropriate treatments or aggravation of diseases. Dr. Hadrian Borcea, chief doctor UPU SMURD Bihor, warns that some patients arrive at the hospital because of the decisions made based on online information.
About the use of Chatgpt in Medicine, Dr. Sandra Alexiu, president of the National Family Medicine Society, explains:
“Chatgpt is good if you give it correct information; if not, you risk that the treatment is not personalized.”
It draws attention that although Chatgpt can collect and synthesized vast information from medical sources, the quality of the result depends on how accurate the data provided by the user. A patient who omits important symptoms, medical history or other essential details can receive wrong recommendations.
In addition, anamnesis – the detailed discussion between doctor and patient – remains an essential component for establishing personalized diagnosis and treatment, impossible to correctly exclusively through artificial intelligence:
“We can’t oppose it. It’s trend, it’s innovation, it’s useful, but we’ll have to be careful how we use it.”stresses Dr. Alexiu.
“Dr.google” can scare patients: the risk of anxiety due to alarmist information
Dr. Alice Vasiliade, a specialist and family doctor, also draws attention to the negative effects of self -diagnosis on the Internet.
“The use of Google or applications for medical diagnosis, sometimes it is not beneficial.”she warns.
Often, the first results displayed at a simple search for a symptom are associated with serious diseases such as cancer or leukemia, which induces unnecessary fear:
“In general, the use of these sources can induce fear, anxiety and panic. If you have a medical training, you can try to ask questions or understand more. But if you do not? I would not use. If you do not have preparation, it is rather dangerous.”Says the doctor Alice Vasiliade.
It emphasizes that treatments cannot be established on the basis of folk cures or vague information found online. The medical consultation remains essential.
Artificial intelligence: aid tool or a real risk?
Conf. Univ. Dr. Tudor Ciuhodaru, an emergency physician in Iași, adds a balanced perspective on the use of artificial intelligence in medicine:
“Digitalization and use of artificial intelligence are not necessarily bad things. We already use them every day at Nicolae Oblu Hospital in Iași, in robotic surgery, and helps doctors.“
He stresses, however, that technology cannot replace the essential role of man in the medical process. In the face of a difficult diagnosis or complicated pathology, even doctors can have dilemmas:
“There is an old medical saying: there are no diseases, there are patients. Each case is unique.“
Anamnesis, palpation, odor evaluation or cardiac auscultation are impossible elements by AI. In addition, Dr. Ciuhodaru raises an important problem:
“How will an artificial intelligence be able to communicate effectively with a suicidal patient, a drug addict or someone intoxicated with hallucinogenic substances? The part of humanity, of mutual listening, is missing.”
The doctor warns that although you may be useful in repetitive practices, in real medicine, the human factor is essential:
“We expose ourselves to a risk of our lives if we rely exclusively on technology. In this profession, humanity matters.”
Technology informs, the doctor treats
Chatgpt and search engines can be useful tools for information, but real medicine does not only mean access to data, but also experience, empathy and adaptation to each individual patient. For your health, do not let an algorithm make decisions instead of a doctor. Nothing can replace direct contact, clinical evaluation and personalized advice offered by a specialist.
