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Dr ChatGPT will see you now – but you’d better be clued up
A study on patients using the AI bot to self-manage diabetes finds important limitations that the public needs to be educated about
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The use of ChatGPT for diabetes patient education clearly illustrates its limitations. Patients need to be aware of them.
PHOTO: AFP
Gerald Sng and Bee Yong Mong
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A patient came to our clinic several months ago experiencing symptoms of hunger and restlessness. He had “consulted” ChatGPT and was told the symptoms were caused by the insulin we had prescribed him for diabetes control. He then stopped all his insulin injections – which led to a significant worsening of his condition.
A doctor would have explained that his symptoms might have been due to low blood sugar levels, which could happen if he had injected more insulin than needed for his meal portions. The appropriate action to take in such a situation is to reduce the insulin dose, instead of stopping it completely.
