Prime Time Living 6.14.26 - Flipbook - Page 15
| Sunday, June 14, 2026
they would have pushed back, quickly.
“We would have said you’re going to
kill people without us,” Wachter stated.
One common assumption that even
laypeople were aware of was that
radiologists would be replaced by AI to
read mammograms, dots on a screen,
because they could do it better than the
naked eye. Both Wachter and his interviewer, DJ Patil, remembered this and
shared anecdotal memories. Wachter
had told his daughter that he would
withhold tuition if that was her choice
for specialization. It turns out, hospitals
and clinics and radiology departments
can’t hire enough of them. Emergency
departments (EDs) in a modern hospital order an MRI or CT scan for almost
any problem located in the torso or
brain. The biggest leap that the public
sees on a regular basis is AI Enhanced
Mammograms. “I phoned two labs and
was told, ‘Yes, we offer them,’ good
news for women, because they are
more likely to spot early cancer.
“When I played with ChatGPT for the
first time,” Wachter said, “I believed this
tech improves patient care because it
allows the doctor to focus on that,
not record keeping. The reality is, our
job, what we are paid for, is to take
care of people. That’s what influences
what we invest in. With AI, what we
are implementing now is improving the
experience.”
Then Wachter brought up AI Scribes.
I first saw the forerunner of this technology at least 10-15 years ago. My
mother had cancer of the eye, so
she had a left eye doctor and a right
eye doctor. The scribe – a live human
being in those days – took notes as
directed by the ophthalmologist, so his
complete focus was on what he was
examining. Today, AI replaces an intern
or resident or whomever. “And,” says
Wachter, “I have access to these notes
immediately. It’s also the first tech
we implemented where our users (the
medical personnel) have said it was
fantastic.
“Now,” Wachter continues, “we are
moving more quickly to bring AI into
our world. We believe it will improve
patient care versus working on ‘stupid,
boring things.’ It allows the doctor to
focus on the person, not record keeping.
“With complex problems, I used to
wait to run into someone who could
help me with recommendations. It was
the medical version of talking over the
cooler in the hall. Now, I can go to Chat
GPT, get a translation, and also get
recommendations.
“When I wrote The Digital Doctor, the
subtitle was ‘Hope, Hype, and Harm at
the Dawn of Medicine.’ In other words,
wishful thinking. This book is upbeat
and positive from someone who spoke
with over 100 people to learn what we
are going to gain, our prognosis, if you
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will. If I thought that people would lose
their jobs because of this, I may not
have been so optimistic, but they will
keep their jobs.”
Take time to watch the interview
with Dr. Wachter on YouTube. There
is so much more to learn about our
medical future. In addition, his book is
very readable and easy to recommend.
You’ll get a good view of how AI could
affect our medical care and what’s
already improved with its use.
According to Pew Research,
“Americans are much more concerned
than excited about the increased use
of AI in daily life, with a majority saying
they want more control over how AI
is used in their lives. As for its role in
health and medicine, in 2022, a majority of the public is unconvinced that the
use of AI in would improve health outcomes.” Wachter believes outcomes
will improve. Let’s hope he’s correct.
