Patients should be cautious about diagnoses generated through artificial intelligence, the president of the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations, Miltos Miltiadous, told CNA, discussing the implications of digital tools being used to diagnose and manage illness. The use of AI has also begun to concern the medical community itself, the president of the Cyprus Medical Association, Petros Agathangelou, told CNA separately.
Asked whether the federation had received complaints from patients about the use of AI, Miltiadous said none had been reported, though he noted that patients often turn to AI applications or the internet more broadly when seeking information about health concerns.
"We always say that patients need to be careful with the use of AI, just as they should be with the use of the internet," Miltiadous said, stressing that a patient's personal doctor remains the most reliable source of guidance on their symptoms. He added that, under the national health system, GESY, patients are able to seek a second opinion if they are not satisfied with the advice they receive from their first doctor.
Miltiadous said that, even before AI applications became widely used, it was common for patients to turn to the internet, where searches could produce some of the worst possible diagnoses. He said the technology itself should not frighten people, but there should be careful consideration of how it can be used properly rather than in a way that causes harm. "The use of AI is not a bad thing, but it should not be relied on by patients for decisions about treatment or the general management of a condition," he told CNA.
Medical association also weighing AI's role
The use of AI by doctors in clinical practice was also recently discussed at a conference held by the Cyprus Medical Association, Miltiadous told CNA. Agathangelou confirmed that this discussion has begun within the medical community, though he said it remains at an early stage.
Agathangelou said the discussion centres on how AI can be integrated into medical practice as a supporting tool, as well as on the need for appropriate training for healthcare professionals. "The technology is useful, but proper use requires training," he told CNA, adding that the aim is not for AI to provide doctors with quick answers, but to give them a better overall picture of the case they are handling.
Source: CNA
