Nigerian Woman Alleges Doctors Use ChatGPT to Diagnose Patients

A Nigerian woman, Toluwanimi Blessing Ibitoye-Fatola, has raised concern about what she described as a widespread practice in Nigerian hospitals. She said she has seen doctors input patients' complaints into ChatGPT and then make diagnoses based on the chatbot's responses. She argued that if she had wanted artificial intelligence to diagnose her, she would not have gone to a hospital. In a post, she referred to the situation as a 'pandemic' occurring in hospitals. She asked whether others had noticed that when patients speak with some doctors, the doctor types everything into ChatGPT and then provides the AI's answer or follow-up question. She said she sat there wondering why she had not simply consulted AI for free instead of paying a large sum to see a doctor who relies on AI. She added that she accidentally saw the interface while the doctor was trying to do something else, and she was shocked. She asked if she was the only one who had observed this and called it a serious issue that needs serious attention. She also said she asked the doctor which school he attended, and he did not know why she asked. She noted that he was not the first or second person at that hospital doing this, and questioned what patients' fate would be. She ended with a plea for divine help, saying many professionals are already emigrating, using the term 'japaing'. Medical doctors replied to her post, explaining that a doctor typing on a device does not necessarily mean they are checking AI for a diagnosis. They said the doctor might instead be entering patient details into an Electronic Medical Record, or EMR, interface. The original poster, however, maintained her position and edited her post to clarify that it was not EMR. She said a large screen in front of the doctor showed all the patient details, while the doctor repeatedly looked at and typed on his phone alongside the screen.