Competencies for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Primary Care

Recognizing that the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is upon us, we found your article to be very informative and timely. One of the main reasons it is challenging for AI to be infused into the medical education curriculum centers on how competencies and learning objectives will need to be retailored as technology continues to rapidly progress. It is important to include AI to an aspiring medical student’s curriculum because this technology can be applied within medicine through imaging, drug discovery, diagnosis, and far beyond. AI can also be used to develop personal treatment plans for patients based on their very own health data. On that account, understanding and applying AI technologies is critical for aspiring medical students.

While AI use in healthcare may lead to new opportunities for patients and physicians alike, it could potentially create greater inequity in primary care. How might a primary care facility’s lack of AI technology affect its patients? How can we work to ensure that all patients, regardless of sociodemographic characteristics, will receive high quality primary care with use of AI technology? How will we prioritize equity in healthcare, given AI advancements?

In addition, many primary care physicians currently experience pressure to stay up to date with technology. How might the use of AI affect their ability to provide adequate primary care to their patients? Furthermore, we also want to take into consideration long-term effects of AI on physicians. We are curious as to how the patient-clinician relationship will change with the abundance of data available and whether the AI use will make the relationship more impersonal. Many physicians already find that electronic health records strain relationships, so the influence of more advanced technology will come with its own unique challenges and may possibly lead to higher rates of burnout.