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AIIMS Rheumatology Department HoD, Dr Uma Kumar, on Friday warned against using artificial intelligence (AI) for self-diagnosing. Kumar addressed the issue of false medication information using ChatGPT and shared a patient story as a cautionary tale.
"One of our patients self-diagnosed his back pain using ChatGPT and started taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which caused bleeding", she said. Explaining the process of professional diagnosing, she said, "All ailments are diagnosed by exclusion, and we advise medicines according to the investigation." She strongly advised against using AI for symptom treatment due to associated risks. "Do not use AI for self-diagnosis or self-treatment", she emphasised. On January 1, the National Medical Commission (NMC) Chairperson and President of National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), Dr Abhijat Sheth, shared his views on AI and its integration into medical science. He cautioned that the use of AI should not impact the doctors' values: "We must make sure that while practising AI in healthcare, the ethical and clinical values must not be compromised." Sheth maintained his stance on AI being useful but cannot replace real doctors. "AI is a huge complement to progress in medicine, but we have to realise it must not replace the real doctors. We must value our physical presence and not become too dependent on AI." He cautioned about over-dependency on Artificial intelligence for students, but maintained that it is undoubtedly a prominent inclusion into healthcare and that "its importance cannot be understated". Additionally, he also explained the purpose behind the free AI course for doctors launched by NBEMS on December 30, 2025. "We felt that this is an evolving area and awareness should be increased among the trainees in undergraduates and postgraduates." (ANI)
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