Here is an example. My provider sent me this note. I'm quoting verbatim here from my MyChart record:
"Your liver enzymes are high, I would like to order acetaminophen containing medication like Tylenol, I would like to order liver ultrasound I placed ultrasound order in the system, make an appointment for radiology, I would like you to get hepatitis panel lab work done, obtain blood work order, please schedule a well visit to get it done"
When I queried it, this is what I got back. It was a dictation error. You could almost hear the panic in the message:
"Sorry for wrong message earlier, I was dictated message- so could not realize that it was written to take Tylenol type of medicines- I DO NOT RECOMMEND ACETAMINOPHEN CONTAINING MEDICINE - LIKE TYLENOL AND ALCOHOL DUE TO ELEVATED LIVER ENZYMES."
Again the problem is not dictation, or LLMs. The problem is humans ignoring their responsibility to check the output of a machine.
If a physician uses Google to search for a dosage chart for some drug they rarely prescribe, you wouldn’t say they are using Google to diagnose the patient. You wouldn’t say that either if they used Google to search for the most recent studies on a topic.
The fact that they use it doesn't make what the result is any worse or less trustworthy - arguably it makes it better.
It only becomes a problem if they offload all of the thinking to AI.