In today’s digital age, patients often have immediate access to their medical test results through online portals – sometimes even before their healthcare provider has reviewed them. While this transparency can be empowering, it also carries significant risks when individuals attempt to interpret complex medical data on their own, especially using artificial intelligence tools or popular search engines.
The effect of asking Dr. Google
Instant access to test results can foster a sense of control and engagement in one’s health journey. However, without the context of a patient’s full medical history, age, lifestyle and other health factors, these results can be easily misinterpreted. This can lead to two major issues:
- Unnecessary anxiety from assuming the worst-case scenario.
- Dangerous decisions based on incomplete or misunderstood information.
Real-Life Consequences
There are countless stories across health care of patients taking matters into their own hands without first consulting their providers. Imagine, for example, the patient who reads their blood test results and decides that their anti-stroke medication has adversely effected their numbers. If the patient decides to stop taking that medication without consulting their provider, they might not know that discontinuing an anti-stroke medication can significantly increase the risk of blood clots, putting them a great risk.
Or perhaps a patient has a sleepless night after an online search listed cancer as a possible cause for an elevated level in a blood test. Perhaps a consultation with their provider would have put them at ease, as a far more common cause might be allergies.
The flipside of worry, of course, is making the assumption that your symptoms are benign.
“We’ve had heart attack victims at our hospital tell us they were sure it was just indigestion,” said Craig Mittleman, MD, medical director of the Emergency Department at L+M Hospital. “In fact, if you search on your electronic device whether signs of heart attack could be indigestion, the answer is yes. This is dangerous because patients may accept an answer because they want to believe it. Medical professionals will base diagnoses on evidence-based testing and evaluating. If you’re having chest pains, that’s no time to ask Dr. Google for help; call 911.”
Mental Health and Self-Diagnosis
Mental health is deeply personal and complex, yet more people are turning to AI chatbots, social media and online symptom checkers to self-diagnose conditions like anxiety, depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder. While these tools may offer comfort or validation, they are not substitutes for professional care. In some cases, they can do more harm than good.
“People having thoughts of self-harm who are talking to a chatbot are never going to get a real human intervention, and a professional intervention is what often makes the biggest difference,” said Kourtney Koslosky, MD, section chief, Psychiatric Emergency Services, Department of Psychiatry, Yale New Haven Hospital, and associate professor of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine. “We encourage people to seek professional help whenever they have thoughts about self-harm. There is no medically approved AI intervention that can substitute for a real doctor in a time of crisis.”
Some of the many reasons to seek professional mental health care include thoughts of suicide or self-harm, missing work or school because of anxiety or severe depression, feeling disconnected from reality such as hearing voices, severe memory loss or inexplicable gaps in memory, and eating disorders.
Expert Insight
The examples above underscore a critical point – search engines and AI tools often list every possible cause, from benign to severe, without prioritizing based on individual context. It’s human nature to fixate on the worst-case scenario, but it’s important to remember: an electronic device didn’t order your test, so why rely on it for a diagnosis? Doctors agree that any information a patient finds on line should be used only to facilitate a more informed conversation with their provider.
Why you should talk to your doctor instead of AI
Medical professionals undergo years of training to interpret test results within the broader context of human physiology. They consider not just the numbers, but how those numbers interact with other systems in the body, your personal health history and current medications. No casual web search or AI prompt can replicate that depth of patient-specific interpretation.
At Yale New Haven Health, safety protocols are in place to ensure that any test result indicating a potentially life-threatening condition triggers an immediate alert to the ordering physician.
“If a lab result crosses a critical threshold, we contact the physician right away,” said Victoria Reyes, MD, medical director of the Laboratory at L+M Hospital. “The physician then reaches out to the patient directly to discuss next steps.”
The Bottom Line
Self-diagnosis – whether through AI or online searches – can be misleading and, in some cases, dangerous. While it’s natural to seek answers, the best course of action is to wait for your healthcare provider’s interpretation; they have the training, experience and context to guide you safely and accurately.
