Why Artificial Intelligence Can Not Replace Your Naturopathic Doctor

Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm, helping to solve problems and answer even the most difficult question in just a few keyboard clicks. While the use of AI has some perks, especially when used as a guide in explaining procedures and answering problems, it will never replace the roles of the health care team in delivering evidence-based and tailored medical interventions to patients. It is a tool that your healthcare provider can use, but it can never be your healthcare provider. This blog post uncovers the impact of artificial intelligence and how its reliability in diagnosing and managing certain disease conditions can fluctuate, leading to potential misdiagnoses, misinterpretations, and consequently, the wrong treatment plan for the patient.
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The Major Shift

Talks on how artificial intelligence can revolutionize healthcare is not new, especially since quite a few industries have shifted to using this technology in their daily operations. However, this debatable issue has become a reality in the country, especially in the state of Utah, which now legally allows artificial intelligence in supplementing clinical decisions when renewing and adjusting prescriptions. This act is considered the first in the world which makes use of an AI platform to decide whether patients with chronic conditions should have their prescriptions updated and renewed.1 The major reason for this shift is to prevent the ongoing problem of medication non-compliance, where people refuse to regularly take their maintenance medications due to staggering costs, eventually worsening diseases and causing added problems their health. 
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The Problem

Artificial intelligence can be a wonderful tool in improving healthcare delivery systems, but its use should only be an adjunct or supplement to the healthcare provider; not replace the role of your doctor in helping you manage your overall health. The beauty of medicine, especially naturopathic care, lies on the connection between you and your naturopathic doctor, where you both work together to help you understand what your body needs to nurture the processes that keep it strong and healthy. It should not be just a mere transaction that reviews symptoms for a prescription refill. Additionally, the reliability of the tool in adequately assessing your health problems still needs further trials and tests.
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The Safety Gap

The core of medicine relies on evidence-based data from years of research and education. While artificial intelligence is equipped with the abilities to browse through the internet and gather data, it may have problems differentiating between reliable studies and fake news from famous websites. In connection, artificial intelligence may recommend certain medications or supplements that may cause more harm than good to your health. For example, it may recommend the use of a certain herb that, although considered safe for the general population, may be contraindicated for you, such as those herbal medications that interact with anticoagulants used by people with heart problems or thyroid drugs given in people with thyroid disorders.

Naturopathic medicine bridges the gap between traditional wisdom and modern science. As such, we have a unique perspective and philosophy on health. Additionally, we draw on some resources that AI doesn’t have access to and then combine that with evidence-based research, clinical expertise, and our knowledge of you and your goals and lifestyle. This can not be replicated by machine. 

In fact, recently, we wanted to test it out for ourselves, so we asked questions as though we were a pregnant patient wanting supportive herbs and supplements for the health of mom and baby. The response recommended some solid, generic recommendations…but it also recommended an herb that can cause miscarriage! When asked, it seemed unaware of the dangers of this herb and claimed that it could be safely used in pregnancy. The consequences of someone following that advice would be devasting. 

Why did this happen? 

• It lacks the ability to distinguish between good-quality sources and poor. It included things like blog posts in making its recommendation, and it is very common to see such posts (even for well-known healthcare sites) written by people without experience and training in botanical medicine. The reputation of these websites allows their posts to be readily seen and referenced, even if the actual information is poor.
• It can not perform a true clinical intake.  Let’s set aside the critical importance of the patient-doctor connection for a moment. AI responds to your input, but we have blindspots when it comes to ourselves. We can not truly assess our own physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Having a trained, experienced provider allows new questions to be asked that will provoke thought and draw forth new information. If the full picture is not understood, the right recommendations can not be found. 
• It can not perform a physical exam. This means false diagnoses, missed signs, delayed care, and potentially fatal results. AI is blind to clues and observations.
• It can not oversee treatment response over time. Improving health requires ongoing clinical management and AI can not do this reliably.
• Race and ethnicity are built into the algorithms that conventional healthcare providers use. This means that when an AI, or a provider over-reliant on algorithms, evaluates data you provide, its answers may contain ingrained bias.2 This is absolutely a risk with humans, too, but the patient-provider relationship, and clinical experience can help to temper this risk; not so with AI. 
• AI can not truly individualize care. AI scrubs the internet for recycled information and tries to apply that to you in an algorithmic way. This sounds like it aligns with how the conventional medical system desires to utilize more algorithms to standardize provider decision-making, speed up office visits, and try to reduce the risk of prescribing errors…but it does not align with the goal of personalized, holistic medicine that those seeking naturopathic medicine want. It does not know things like if you’re overwhelmed, if your nervous system can handle a particular supplement, when supplement or a lifestyle change is best, or if your immune system will become overstimulated. 
  • “Globally, medication-related errors are responsible for 5% to 41.3% of all hospital admissions and 22% of readmissions after discharge. The incidence of medication errors is 30% higher in patients who are prescribed five or more drugs and 38% higher in those 75 years or older.”3 This data includes prescriber errors, dosing errors, patient errors, unauthorized medications, etc. 
• AI has no ethical responsibility. It does not feel the burden of the importance of your care. It has no compunction about how it answers your questions and the recommendations it makes. 
• AI does not know its own blindspots and it will confidently state wrong information as fact (AI hallucinations). A good naturopathic doctor knows when to reassess, refer to or consult other providers, get further testing, or change a supplement or other treatment. The recognition that the world is a vast place full of millenia of wisdom and information can keep a human provider humble and seeking for knowledge. By contrast, AI stagnates as humans become more reliant on it, simply rewording the same information and never growing. 
• AI can not form a therapeutic relationship. A common thing we hear from patients and clients is “This feels like therapy,” “This is the first time someone has listened to me,” or “I feel safe.” The relationship itself is healing! Plus, this relationship helps develop self-efficacy which benefits your overall health.4 Naturopathic medicine, properly applied, changes behaviors for the better. There is often a ripple effect across your life and your family’s lives when you have naturopathic care. 

AI can not integrate the vast set of tools naturopathic doctors utilize. It does not understand when and how to blend herbal medicines, nutrition, lifestyle, etc. It can not see the context of individualized biochemistry, genetics, value systems and more, to know how to prioritize problems and apply wisdom. AI can summarize basic information, but, in all disciplines, the application of medicine has always been as much an art as a science. ​
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The Difference

Artificial intelligence focuses on symptoms, not the whole person. On the other hand, your naturopathic doctors read beyond symptoms and target the root causes of your health problems. Simply put, AI refills your blood pressure medications for you, but the naturopathic approach examines the causes behind blood pressure imbalance, such as your diet, environment, and organ health. Your healthcare provider’s expertise is needed in managing health concerns. In connection, history taking and physical examination should be done during every healthcare visit, both of which need a keen clinical eye from your doctor brought by years of training in managing patients. On the other hand, artificial intelligence can be a wonderful adjunct in supporting a health practice’s everyday activities. ​
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The Naturopathic Approach

Naturopathic care considers the whole person, not just managing symptoms. Although the use of artificial intelligence is revolutionary, with features improving throughout time, it will never replace the partnership between you and your naturopathic doctor to address your unique health problems. It can be used to organize health data, but it should never be used to authorize the care of a person. At Natural Path to Wellness, your team of naturopathic care providers will work with you to help you discover the best natural and holistic options for your health. Talk to us today!

BECOME A CLIENT

This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult your licensed naturopathic physician or other licensed healthcare provider before making changes to your medications or supplements. 

​Disclosures & Policies: This and other blog posts may contain affiliate links. Please view our disclosures page for more information.

REFERENCES:

1. Taylor L. Ai: Algorithm that performs prescription renewals “Better than doctors” approved in World First. BMJ. 2026;392. doi:10.1136/bmj.s44 
   
2. https://www.ama-assn.org/public-health/health-equity/feds-warned-algorithms-can-introduce-bias-clinical-decisions#:~:text=bias%20in%20medicine.-,Dr.,based%20in%20race%20
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519065/or%20ethnicity.”
4. Kamimura A, Higham R, Rathi N, Panahi S, Lee E, Ashby J. Patient-Provider Relationships Among Vulnerable Patients: The Association With Health Literacy, Continuity of Care, and Self-Rated Health. J Patient Exp. 2020;7(6):1450-1457. doi:10.1177/2374373519895680
   
5. Rathert C, Mittler JN, Vogus TJ, Lee YSH. Better outcomes through patient - Provider therapeutic connections? An exploratory study of proposed mediating variables. Soc Sci Med. 2023;338:116290. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116290