Written by Dr William Maish
AI symptom checkers have become incredibly common, but their limitations are rarely discussed openly. These systems are helpful for basic direction, yet they often under-perform when the presentation is nuanced, rare or complicated by comorbidities. They also struggle when patients describe their symptoms in natural language that deviates from training data.
This doesn’t mean AI has no place in healthcare; it means we need clearer expectations. AI should support doctors, not replace them, and its recommendations should be transparent, explainable and clinically sound. Patients deserve accuracy, not guesswork, and oversight from qualified clinicians remains essential.
If you want to understand how this informs what we do at Medly and why we do it, check out Medly, my publications & my current research.
Written by Dr William Maish
MD MBA MPH FHEA JD (in prog.)
Found of Medly & Medly Health
ORCID profile
Google Scholar profile
LinkedIn profile