One Mass. health system is turning to AI to ease shortage of primary care doctors. Some don’t like it – statnews.com
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Oct. 12, 2025
Mass General Brigham has turned to artificial intelligence to address a critical shortage of primary care doctors, launching an AI app that questions patients, reviews medical records, and produces a list of potential diagnoses.
Called “Care Connect,” the platform was launched on Sept. 9 for the 15,000 MGB patients without a primary care doctor. A chatbot that is available 24/7 interviews the patient, then sets up a telehealth appointment with a physician in as little as half an hour. MGB is among the first health care systems nationally to roll out the app.
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Several primary care doctors at MGB, however, described AI as a sideshow, a distraction from what they contend is the real solution to the shortage: providing the pay and working conditions that will attract more primary care physicians to the state’s largest health system and keep them from leaving.
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