One in four Americans now use AI tools for health information or advice, according to a recent West Health-Gallup Center survey, and most aren’t trying to bypass their clinicians. They want to show up better prepared. In a new op-ed, GEDC Co-PI Kevin Biese, MD, MAT, and health care executive Melissa Martin, MHA, argue this shift is changing the clinician’s role from sole authority to collaborator in care.
The Trust Gap
The data points to deeper challenges than technology adoption. Only 4 percent of recent AI users say they strongly trust the tools, and with good reason: AI can misread symptoms and miss critical context. Nearly one in five respondents said they had felt dismissed or ignored by a provider. When patients disengage from the clinical relationship, quality, safety, and outcomes are all at risk.
Cost and Access Drive AI Use
Many patients turn to AI because traditional care is out of reach. Among recent users, some said they didn’t want to pay for a visit, couldn’t afford one, or had no access to a provider. The burden falls hardest on lower-income households, where nearly a third said they used AI because they couldn’t afford a doctor’s visit.
Three Choices for Health Care Leaders
The authors identify three choices that will separate organizations that lead from those that follow:
- Be the trusted source throughout the patient journey
Connect patients to reliable AI tools before and after visits, rather than leaving them to find their own way. - Prepare clinical teams for a different kind of patient
Clinicians who acknowledge and build on what patients have learned will drive stronger outcomes than those who treat it as a distraction. - Treat equity as a strategic signal
Ensure AI becomes a bridge to care for underserved communities, not a roadblock.
“Now, more than ever, your patients need a human collaborator,” the authors write.
What This Means for Geriatric Emergency Care
Older adults and their caregivers increasingly bring their own questions and research into the ED. Approaches central to the CMS Age-Friendly Hospital Measure, like goals-of-care conversations, depend on exactly the kind of trust and partnership the authors describe.