Beware of “AI doctors”

*Patients need to be examined and tested before having a treatment regimen. Illustration photo: PV*

Previously, when her child had symptoms of cough, runny nose, and stuffy nose, Ms. NTH described them to ChatGPT and asked the platform to suggest a treatment method. A few seconds later, "predictions" about the child's health condition along with a series of care and treatment advice, including a list of suggested medications, were provided. These included drugs containing Corticoid - a compound that is very dangerous for young children.

Many doctors said they have seen many cases of patients with chronic diseases whose condition worsened after following ChatGPT's treatment regimen. A doctor from the Cardiology Department - Quang Nam General Hospital shared that not long ago, he treated two young patients who abused "AI doctors" and suffered consequences when their condition worsened.

Dr. Nguyen Tam Thang, Deputy Director of Quang Nam General Hospital, said that ChatGPT should only be considered as an initial tool to support people in finding medical information, recognizing danger signs or preparing questions before going to the doctor. Abusing AI to diagnose and treat diseases is dangerous.

“To clearly determine the condition of the disease and prescribe a treatment regimen, the doctor must carefully examine the clinical symptoms, including functional and physical symptoms, and order basic and paraclinical tests to assess the function of organs, determine the cause of the disease and associated diseases. Not to mention, the doctor must also learn the patient's medical history before making a definitive diagnosis and prescribing the appropriate medication for each patient,” said Dr. Nguyen Tam Thang.

Recently, OpenAI representatives said that ChatGPT should not be used for important medical decisions without human review. In fact, users can still ask ChatGPT about symptoms, medical concepts or medical procedures... but will not diagnose or prescribe specifically. This helps to distinguish the boundary between " medical information" (which can be shared) and "medical advice" (which must be given by a doctor).

Currently, AI platforms operate on data collected from many sources and are not representative of many populations. When data is not comprehensive, AI is at risk of drawing wrong conclusions. Especially for personalized information fields such as medical history, treatment regimens, AI cannot make accurate predictions or advice.

In addition, the list of drugs suggested by AI or chatbot applications has absolutely no legal value and cannot replace a valid prescription. Arbitrary purchase of treatment drugs, including antibiotics, makes the situation of antibiotic resistance alarming.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that Vietnam is among the countries with the highest antibiotic resistance rates in the Asia- Pacific region. The reason is that most patients buy drugs without a doctor's prescription.

From October 1, the Ministry of Health requires all medical examination and treatment facilities that are hospitals to implement electronic prescriptions. For other medical examination and treatment facilities, it will be implemented from January 1, 2026. This is the roadmap of Circular 26/2025 of the Ministry of Health regulating prescriptions and prescriptions of pharmaceuticals and biological products in outpatient treatment at medical examination and treatment facilities. The Ministry of Health believes that when all prescriptions are updated synchronously, the management agency can promptly detect and handle acts of drug abuse, prescriptions that are not in accordance with regulations, or selling drugs without a prescription.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/canh-giac-voi-bac-si-ai-3309646.html