As a family medicine physician and clinical informaticist, one of the most exciting opportunities I’m seeing is how AI can transform the patient-physician relationship. From information gathering to personalized education materials to preventative care outreach, I think the next three to five years will be transformative for patient care.
As health information is more available than ever, it’s crucial to get one thing right from the start: establishing a shared foundation of evidence between patients and clinicians. It’s essential that all parties reference the same clinical information across tools, workflows, and mediums to cut through misinformation and maintain trust for better outcomes.
AI is powering health information-gathering for patients
Patients are looking for health information wherever they can find it—in many cases, that includes social media platforms like TikTok and free generative AI (GenAI) engines. Often, they’re researching to help distill complex information, get initial direction on symptoms, and help prepare themselves with health questions ahead of a visit. But the amount of available information is simply astounding.
These search methods are now the new normal. A KFF Health poll found one in six adults used AI-generated platforms and chatbots to find health information at least once a month—the statistic rose to one in four for those under age 30. The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s April 2025 health survey found that 75% of people who search online say the AI-generated responses “often” or “sometimes” provide them with the answer they need, and 63% think AI-generated health information is somewhat or very reliable.
The good news is that the Anneberg survey also found that 90% of patients still feel confident in providers as a trustworthy source of health information. I always appreciate a more engaged patient coming with questions, regardless of the information source; it keeps the door open to conversation. It’s also a key opportunity to reinforce evidence-based information and address any online or AI misinformation through conversations and patient education materials.
Clinicians have an opportunity to educate patients on AI use
As AI is increasingly used at the point of care, clinicians can help ease patients’ concerns about data and information use. Nearly half of patients aren’t comfortable with healthcare providers using AI tools rather than solely their experience. However, a Wolters Kluwer survey of physicians found that about 80% felt GenAI can help improve care team interactions with patients.
Clinicians can proactively describe how AI is helping them and supporting better care. This might include the evidence it’s grounded in, and how a purpose-built healthcare clinical decision support solution may provide a different recommendation compared to open source LLMs that the patient might be using. They can describe how ambient technology allows them to take clinical notes while maintaining eye contact and be given evidence relevant to those notes right within the workflow.
Clinicians also need to help educate patients on why open source LLMs aren’t always accurate—for example, if the system can’t find the answer, there is a high likelihood that it will simply make one up. Inaccurate information can lead to poor patient outcomes and even injury. By proactively discussing the best ways to use AI in healthcare, clinicians can then provide patients with education resources aligned with decision support to support their health journeys and show them available resources within patient portals to reduce the potential risks associated with outside sources.
Shared clinical evidence can help provide unified care
As we look to share information across the care journey, AI can also provide opportunities to influence how we deliver health information to patients. We can personalize it by breaking it down into relevant pieces of information delivered at just the right time, rather than presenting everything all at once in a long document, which might overwhelm patients. We can also help unify evidence across generations by helping clinicians and patients alike access information in the most convenient way—including the EHR, mobile devices, text messages, portals, and GenAI chat.
But this is all based on a shared foundation of evidence across the care journey—clinical evidence aligned with drug recommendations, curated by practicing clinicians and experts, with content modified for patient education. If multidisciplinary care teams and ambulatory staff are using separate decision support and patient education vendors, the information may not be aligned. Making sure shared evidence is at the center gives clinicians the quick information they need and provides patients with guidance that is aligned for their care journey—however they choose to access it.
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