Using Artificial Intelligence in Patient Care-Some Considerations for Doctors and Medical Regulators.

This paper discusses the key role medical regulators have in setting standards for doctors who use artificial intelligence (AI) in patient care. Given their mandate to protect public health and safety, it is incumbent on regulators to guide the profession on emerging and vexed areas of practice such as AI. However, formulating effective and robust guidance in a novel field is challenging particularly as regulators are navigating unfamiliar territory.

The Pitfalls of Overtreatment: Why More Care is not Necessarily Beneficial.

Overtreatment refers to interventions that do not benefit the patient, or where the risk of harm from the intervention is likely to outweigh any benefit the patient will receive. It can account for up to 30% of health care costs, and is increasingly recognised as a widespread problem across nations and within clinical and scientific communities. There are a number of inter-related factors that drive overtreatment including the expanding definition of diseases, advertising and the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, how doctors are trained and remunerated, demands from patients (and their families) and the fear of complaints leading doctors to practise defensively.

A Doctor in the House: Ethical and Practical Issues when Doctors Treat Themselves and Those they are Close to.

Having a doctor in the family is often seen as beneficial as there is easy access to medical advice and care. It is common for doctors to treat themselves and those they are close to, and some doctors consider this their prerogative. However, there are pitfalls.