Simple rule:
Use AI to help you organize your thoughts, not to make medical decisions.
AI should not be used to:
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Decide whether you need treatment
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Change, stop, or delay a medicine
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Interpret urgent symptoms
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Replace advice from your healthcare team
AI may help you:
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Understand medical terms in plain language
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Make a list of questions for your doctor
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Prepare for an appointment
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Summarize what you want to discuss
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Think through what matters most to you
Lesson 2: Clear information often leads to more useful AI responses
AI often provides more useful responses when you give it clear context and specific instructions.
You can write:
I have CLL. I am preparing for a visit with my healthcare team. Please help me make a simple list of questions. Do not recommend a treatment. Focus on what I should ask my doctor.
You may also add:
- What symptoms am I having?
- What do I want to understand better?
- What worries me most?
- What are my goals, such as fewer side effects, fewer clinic visits, staying active, or understanding risks?
Do not put sensitive personal information, such as your full medical record, Social Security number, insurance number, or other private details, into public AI tools.
Using AI to support shared decision-making
Shared decision-making means you and your healthcare team make decisions together. Your care team brings medical knowledge. You bring your goals, values, daily life needs, and preferences.
The goal is to discuss reasonable options, including possible benefits, risks, and tradeoffs
Before your next visit, consider asking AI to help you prepare these questions:
- What are my reasonable care options right now?
- What test results matter for my CLL decisions?
- What are the possible benefits and risks of each treatment option?
- Are there treatments that have 6-years+ of outcomes?
- Do all treatments have the same infection or cardiovascular risks?
- I heard some treatments may have different rates of headache and a-fib? Can you explain the differences?
- How could each option affect my daily life?
- How do my personal goals affect the decision?
