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Women with complex chronic illnesses are increasingly relying on AI chatbots for health guidance, as the medical system often fails to provide adequate care.
Apr. 3, 2026 at 3:35pm
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When Margie Smith, 70, of Swannanoa, North Carolina, struggled to get a diagnosis for her long COVID and dysautonomia symptoms, she turned to the AI chatbot Claude for help. More people, especially women with complex chronic illnesses, are using chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude for medical advice as they feel let down by the traditional healthcare system. While chatbots can sometimes provide useful insights, experts warn they also pose significant risks, as the technology is not yet advanced enough to reliably diagnose or treat medical conditions.
This trend highlights the failures of the current medical system, particularly in addressing complex, hard-to-diagnose conditions that disproportionately affect women. It also raises concerns about the dangers of relying on unregulated AI technology for sensitive health decisions. As more people turn to chatbots, there are growing calls for better integration of AI tools into the healthcare system and for increased medical literacy to help patients critically evaluate the information they receive.
Patients like Margie Smith and Patty Costello have found that chatbots like Claude and ChatGPT can sometimes provide useful insights and even help them get accurate diagnoses when traditional doctors have failed. However, experts warn that the technology is not yet advanced enough to reliably diagnose or treat medical conditions. Studies have found that people without medical training often reach incorrect conclusions when using chatbots for health advice. Doctors have also reported seeing patients who have been harmed after accepting false reassurance or dangerous recommendations from chatbots.
A 70-year-old resident of Swannanoa, North Carolina, who turned to the AI chatbot Claude for help in diagnosing her long COVID and dysautonomia symptoms after struggling to get answers from traditional doctors.
A user experience researcher in Idaho who was able to get a diagnosis of mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) after ChatGPT suggested it as a possible diagnosis for her long-standing symptoms of nausea, diarrhea, heartburn, and fatigue.
A 31-year-old pelvic floor physical therapist in Denver who used her medical expertise to critically evaluate ChatGPT’s suggestions and ultimately get a diagnosis of pelvic congestion syndrome, a condition she had been seeking answers for since her teenage years.
The CEO of the American Medical Association, who has seen patients come to him scared of grave illnesses that didn’t fit their symptoms after relying on chatbot advice.
The clinical lead for data science and AI at Mass General Brigham, who warns that general-purpose chatbots “have not been thoroughly evaluated” for personalized diagnoses and can make significant errors.
“The medical system really failed me. Is it a good thing to be depending on AI for medical advice? I don’t think so. But it’s the option that’s available.”
— Margie Smith
“There are a lot of problems with using chatbots for medical advice. But I think we also have to admit that there’s a reason people are doing this.”
— James Landay, Co-director of Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI
“I’ve been wanting so badly to send a message to my primary care, but I haven’t yet, to kind of be like: ‘I told you so. You were going to have me live the rest of my life in this chronic pain.’”
— Caroline Gamwell, Pelvic floor physical therapist
“How would I know if it were telling me the right thing?”
— Samantha Allen Wright, English professor
Experts and patients alike are calling for better integration of AI tools into the healthcare system, as well as increased medical literacy to help patients critically evaluate the information they receive from chatbots. Regulatory bodies and medical organizations are also likely to increase scrutiny and guidelines around the use of AI for medical advice.
This trend highlights the systemic failures of the current medical system, particularly in addressing complex, hard-to-diagnose conditions that disproportionately affect women. While AI chatbots can provide useful insights in some cases, the technology is not yet advanced enough to reliably diagnose or treat medical conditions, underscoring the need for greater collaboration between AI developers, healthcare providers, and patients to ensure the safe and effective use of these emerging tools.
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