By MIKE MAGEE MD

I read with interest, Dr. Rachael Bedard’s September 25, 2026 New York Times article titled “Being a Doctor Will Never Be the Same After A.I.” In her second paragraph she writes “Amid our recent doom cycle about whether A.I. will lead to extreme societal harms, a parallel anxiety has taken hold in medicine about whether A.I. will one day replace physicians.”

Dr. Bedard self-identifies as a primary care physician trained in internal medicine, geriatrics and palliative care. Her practice focuses on the special challenges of homeless and incarcerated elders. She is also heavily involved in political advocacy for pro-choice health policy.

But her Opinion piece mainly considered the impact of AI on current medical students and residents in training.

In her view, “It’s impractical and counterproductive to train physicians in 2026 without exposure to A.I. Doctoring . . .”

Her words seem to reinforce my own bias that physicians are increasingly distancing themselves from the human side of health care, finding it easier (and less messy physically and emotionally) to focus on diagnosis, treatment options, and chronic care team management within the confines of a work week closer to 40 hours than 80 hours as in the past.

Internet connectivity and AI efficiency certainly make this migration more realistic. But even before AI, patient empowerment and ready data access encouraged patients to self-manage many of their own health care decisions. In addition, urgent care and pharmacy based clinics filled the gap left by uneven access to care that occurred as more and more physicians became employees of merging corporate health care organizations and the numbers of primary care physicians necessary for ready patient access lagged behind demand.

Physicians salaries have risen to $280,000 a year as numbers of primary care physicians declined with projected shortages by 2038 of 24% for Family Medicine and 17% for Internal Medicine. Their work hours are more reasonable, but over 1/2 reported “burnout”, complaining of excessive paperwork, medical school debt, being hostage to patient satisfaction scores, and work/life balance issues (women 56%, men 44%). Too many bureaucratic tasks topped the list of complaints at 62%, while lack of respect from patients was near the bottom of their concerns at 22%.

As for solutions, what would bring them psychic relief? Increased compensation (48%), more support staff (47%), more flexible work schedules (46%), increased physician autonomy (41%), more respect from administrators (35%), lighter patient loads (33%).