AI-powered tools are becoming a common part of daily life, including in the health and wellness space. Dr. Olivia Tomasco, a primary care physician at Houston Methodist, has noticed more patients bringing AI-generated information to their medical appointments.
“I’ve definitely had people bring printouts of their ChatGPT conversations,” she said. “People come in wanting to feel better — or to stay well. And they’ve asked ChatGPT what they need to have their doctor do for them.”
While using technology for personal health can be positive, Dr. Tomasco cautioned that artificial intelligence often sounds confident even when its advice is inaccurate. This can lead people to follow recommendations that are not right for their individual circumstances.
Most popular chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, use large language models (LLMs). These systems generate responses based on patterns in vast amounts of text but do not verify if the information is medically accurate or relevant to a person’s situation.
A study published in Nature Medicine found that LLMs perform well on structured medical questions but lose accuracy during more complex, back-and-forth discussions with users. This highlights the gap between answering standard test questions and handling real-life clinical reasoning.
Dr. Tomasco observed that AI responses often mix reliable facts with questionable ideas: “These AI tools might give some evidence-based information, but then also give some less evidence-based information,” she explained. “This gives the person a false impression that the entire conversation is evidence-based, when it’s really not.”
She noted this can cause confusion and may lead patients to request unnecessary tests or treatments: “Someone may come in wanting this hormone test that just doesn’t make sense for their personal health history and what’s going on with them currently,” she added. “This can be a really tough mindset for a physician to turn around. It’s hard for someone to hear that my recommendation doesn’t match what they were expecting.”
Sometimes, seeking out wellness trends could signal underlying issues such as anxiety or stress rather than actual physical symptoms: “Is the actual seeking of the wellness trend a symptom of something deeper that we need to kind of peel back the layers? For instance, why do you feel the need to do a cleanse if you’re not having symptoms?”
However, Dr. Tomasco sees benefits when AI is used for low-risk activities like organizing healthy habits—especially meal planning or developing exercise routines. She uses AI herself for simple recipe ideas suitable for her busy family schedule: “I think that it’s really great for meal planning,” she said.
She advised caution for those with chronic conditions affecting diet and recommended consulting trained professionals before making significant changes: “Be careful if you have a chronic condition that impacts your diet,” warns Dr. Tomasco. “For instance, diabetes, fatty liver, kidney disease — it’s best to consult with a trained dietitian for personalized nutrition advice.”
AI can also help people create beginner workout plans or provide reminders about staying active: “If you have a hard time starting a workout regimen and ChatGPT can take that stress off for you, then that’s a really great way to support a healthy habit like getting active,” Dr. Tomasco said.
For managing mild stress through guided meditations or journaling prompts generated by AI tools, Dr. Tomasco was supportive but stressed limits: “If you’re having a panic attack or feeling depressed, you need to talk to a human being about what’s going on,” she urged.
Dr. Tomasco emphasized boundaries where AI should not be used—particularly in areas requiring professional medical judgment such as medication management: “Anything that requires medical management — medication changes, side effects, medication interactions — do not turn to AI for that sort of thing.”
During patient visits focused on overall wellness rather than specific complaints, Dr. Tomasco asks about stressors, sleep quality, diet, exercise habits and substance use because these foundational factors impact health significantly.
“In addition to discussing whatever issue brought someone in, I touch on these things because people may not feel like these are things to bring up or that they’re not that important, but they are,” said Dr. Tomasco. “And if your doctor is asking you about it, that’s basically my way of saying this is important.”
She concluded by highlighting the ongoing value of direct human connection in healthcare: “You need to have a person who cares about you and cares about your health,” said Dr. Tomasco.”That’s what matters most.”
