Using a LLM for medical research is just as dangerous as Googling it. Always ask your doctors!
I have good insurance and have a primary care doctor with whom I have good rapport. But I can’t talk to her every time I have a medical question—it can take weeks to just get a phone call! If I manage to get an appointment, it’s a 15 minute slot, and I have to try to remember all of the relevant info as we speed through possible diagnoses.
Using an llm not for diagnosis but to shape my knowledge means that my questions are better and more pointed, and I have a baseline understanding of the terminology. They’ll steer you wrong on the fine points, but they’ll also steer you _right_ on the general stuff in a way that Dr. Google doesn’t.
One other anecdote. My daughter went to the ER earlier this year with some concerning symptoms. The first panel of doctors dismissed it as normal childhood stuff and sent her home. It took 24 hours, a second visit, and an ambulance ride to a children’s hospital to get to the real cause. Meanwhile, I gave a comprehensive description of her symptoms and history to an llm to try to get a handle on what I should be asking the doctors, and it gave me some possible diagnoses—including a very rare one that turned out to be the cause. (Kid is doing great now). I’m still gonna take my kids to the doctor when they’re sick, of course, but I’m also going to use whatever tools I can to get a better sense of how to manage our health and how to interact with the medical system.
I also have good insurance and a PCP. The idea that I could call them up just to ask “should I start doing this new exercise” or “how much aspirin for this sprained ankle?” is completely divorced from reality.
And "your doctor" is actually "any doctor that is willing to write you a prescription for our medicine".
i'm not going to call my doctor to ask "is it okay if I try doing kettlebell squats?"
But also, maybe calling your doctor would be wise (eg if you have back problems) before you start doing kettlebell squats.
I'd say that the audience for a lot of health related content skews towards people who should probably be seeing a doctor anyway.
The cynic in me also thinks some of the "ask your doctor" statements are just slapped on to artificially give credence to whatever the article is talking about (eg "this is serious exercise/diet/etc).
Edit: I guess what I meant is: I don't think it's just "liability", but genuine advice/best practice/wisdom for a sizable chunk of audiences.
That's exactly what I (and most people I know) routinely do both in Italy and France. Like, "when in doubt, call the doc". I wouldn't know where to start if I had to handle this kind of stuff exclusively by myself.
> If I manage to get an appointment, it’s a 15 minute slot
I'm sorry that this is what "good insurance" gets you.
This probably varies by locale. For example my doctor responds within 1 day on MyChart for quick questions. I can set up an in person or video appointment with her within a week, easily booked on MyChart as well.
I’d encourage you to find another doctor.
E-mails and communication is completely free of charge.
We all know that Google and LLM's are not the answer for your medical questions but that they cause fear and stress instead.
In 40 years, only one of my doctors had the decency to correct his mistake after I pointed it out.
He prescribed the wrong Antibiotics, which I only knew because I did something dumb and wondered if the prescribed antibiotics cover a specific strain, which they didn't, which I knew because I asked an LLM and then superficially double-checked via trustworthy official, government sources.
He then prescribed the correct antibiotics. In all other cases where I pointed out a mistake, back in the day researched without LLMs, doctors justified their logic, sometimes siding with a colleague or "the team" before evaluating the facts themselves, instead of having an independent opinion, which, AFAIK, especially in a field like medicine, is _absolutely_ imperative.
Regardless, it's diagnostic capability is distinct from the dangers it presents, which is what the parent comment was mentioning.
The ol' "What weighs more, a pound of feathers or two pounds of bricks" trick explains this perfectly to me.