AIIMS Rheumatology HoD Dr Uma Kumar on Friday warned against using artificial intelligence (AI) for self-diagnosis. Kumar used ChatGPT to address the issue of false drug information and share patient stories for lessons learned.
“One of our patients used ChatGPT to self-diagnose back pain and started taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which caused bleeding,” she said.
Explaining the process of professional diagnosis, she said, “All diseases are diagnosed by exclusion diagnosis and we advise medicines based on research.”
She strongly advised against using AI to treat symptoms due to the risks involved.
“Do not use AI for self-diagnosis or self-medication,” she stressed.
On January 1, Dr. Abhijat Sheth, Chairman, National Medical Commission (NMC) and Chairman, National Board of Medical Examinations (NBEMS), shared his views on AI and its integration into medicine.
He warned that the use of AI must not affect doctors’ values, saying: “We must ensure that ethical and clinical values are not compromised when implementing AI in the medical field.”
Sheth maintained that AI is useful but cannot replace a real doctor. “Although AI is a great complement to medical advances, we need to recognize that AI cannot replace real doctors. We need to value our physical presence and avoid relying too much on AI.”
He warned about students’ over-reliance on artificial intelligence, but argued that artificial intelligence is undoubtedly a prominent part of medicine and “its importance cannot be underestimated”.
He also explained the purpose of the free AI course for doctors launched by NBEMS on December 30, 2025. “This is an evolving field and we felt there was a need to raise awareness among undergraduate and graduate trainees.” (Ani)
