7 ways to handle the patient who brought AI to the visit

A third of U.S. adults have turned to an AI chatbot for health information in the past year, according to a KFF tracking poll, and 41 percent of them have uploaded test results or clinical notes to get a personalized read. That is 13 percent of the public feeding their own charts into a consumer chatbot.

Most of that traffic runs straight through the practice. West Health and Gallup found that among recent users, 59 percent turn to AI before a visit and 56 percent after one, and 46 percent said the tool made them more confident asking a provider questions. The patient is not replacing the physician. The patient is arriving with a second opinion already in hand, and the front desk is fielding the appointment requests it generates.

Practices have spent two years deciding which AI tools to buy. The tools patients bring are already in the building, and no vendor contract governs them. Here are seven places to start.