Artificial intelligence is part of our world. Like all technology, this can make our lives as practitioners easier provided we know how and when to use it. But there are pitfalls to be aware of.

I asked my favourite AI platform to write a stripped back summary of what it perceives are the and pros and cons of use in a naturopathic practice, after I’d researched and written my own article. Let’s compare the two.

AI on AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines designed to think, learn, and solve problems autonomously. It encompasses various technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, enabling computers to perform tasks that typically require human cognition.

The integration of AI in naturopathic practice presents both advantages and disadvantages.

Pros:
Personalized Treatment: AI analyzes patient data to create tailored treatment plans, enhancing efficacy.

Enhanced Diagnostics: AI improves diagnostic accuracy by analyzing medical images and data.

Remote Monitoring: Wearable AI devices enable continuous health tracking, facilitating early intervention.

Administrative Efficiency: AI automates tasks like scheduling, allowing practitioners to focus more on patient care

Cons:
Privacy Concerns: AI requires access to sensitive data, raising security issues.

Bias: AI algorithms may reflect biases present in training data, affecting fairness.

Depersonalization: Over-reliance on technology may diminish the quality of patient interactions.

This summary was annotated with five linked references; four looked at AI in healthcare and one in CAM specifically.

Source

A naturopath’s perspective on AI in practice

Most business platforms already use AI, from Xero to Cliniko and  Zoom. Some of these innovations are simply around workflow, while others go much deeper such as Zoom’s new AI Companion.

Our clients might use wearables, like smart watches and continuous glucose monitors, sharing valuable data that helps inform our clinical decisions. But using AI to diagnose and treat clients naturopathically remains controversial.

AI learns our biases

AI is essentially crowdsourcing on a quantum level but with the ability to continue learning and evolving. The quality and relevance largely depends on where the data it learns from is sourced.

 “There is also the risk of AI models being influenced by biased, flawed, or incomplete datasets, potentially leading to erroneous recommendations”
Unveiling the magic: how AI is revolutionizing naturopathy

But is this significantly different to how emerging practitioners consult their mentors and peers to put the pieces of the diagnostic and prescribing puzzle together?

Naturopathic diagnosis and prescribing bots

According to AI itself, currently there are no comprehensive AI prescribing and diagnostic platforms derived solely from Australian practitioners. Therefor it’s wise to understand the bias of what is on offer before investing.

For example, herbalmedicine.ai offers a collection of user pays bots including:

Scribebot, with the tag line “trust us, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without it.“  Practitioners input client information, the bot asks a few prompts and in a split second writes the treatment plan.

Diffbot offers differential diagnoses.

Serenitybot writes client communications “when grappling to communicate a complex idea, or a client is struggling with the motivation necessary to make a change.”

Naturopathy and herbal medicine are often practiced differently around the world, and also within individual schools and communities. The bulk of this particular machine learning for the herbalmedicine.ai bots has come from curriculum and graduates of the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine in the US. According to one student, the school “weaves functional medicine with eclectic herbalism and nutritional science in a way that I’ve not seen from any other school.”

Like many US grassroots herbal courses, the type of extracts and the herbs themself can differ widely to how it’s commonly practiced in Australia, including prescribing scheduled herbs like lobelia.

Source

Pros and cons of AI assisted diagnostics and prescribing

A potential advantage of using  AI in health is more personalised medicine. Treating the individual rather than a disease is a central tenet of naturopathy. Understanding the differences in presentation and treatment of a single condition, to provide an individualised treatment plan, is what we’re about. But skill is needed to tease out signs and symptoms to provide the data for an accurate AI derived diagnosis and treatment.

There is a real risk of  AI over simplifying complex presentations leading to a reductionist approach. Arguably this is something that can already occur in practice.

Further considerations in using AI in practice include:

• Privacy and security is an issue with any digital platform. Can we trust AI to safeguard the sensitive nature of information shared in a consultation?
• Can AI understand holism? Evidence based medicine often overlooks the whole person approach central to naturopathy. Treatment plans frequently need to take into account multiple presentations, with a synergistic prescribing approach to minimise the number of medicines.
• Patients often consult naturopaths and herbalists for their empathy, knowledge, experience and wisdom. The practitioner-client relationship is complex and the potential for healing goes beyond prescribing remedie
• If a practitioner’s diagnostic and treatment skills are so underdeveloped that they need a bot, will they have enough knowledge or critical reasoning to judge the safety, efficacy and appropriateness of the AI prescribed treatment?

Creating content with AI

A few AI platforms that practitioners love for workflow and content creation.

Transcription: Heidi offers specialised medical transcription AI, taking notes during a consultation so you don’t have to hunt and peck at the keyboard during a consultation. It is already widely used in Australian medical practices, understanding both our accent and the medical terminology. It can also save time creating summaries for clients.

ChatGPT is the most well known platform, popular for both research and writing. If you’re struggling to get started, it can be a useful starting point for writing blog posts or articles.

Perplexity.Ai is a powerful research and writing tool favoured by many academics . It includes direct links to all the research papers crawled and can be a huge time saver. Search criteria is key, so be as specific as possible. If your initial question doesn’t take you in the right direction, it allows you to keep building on them to refine the criteria.

And one AI content creation tool that’s not quite there yet!

AI image generators can potentially create a unique infographics and royalty-free images. Though previous attempts to generate pictures of  ‘naturopaths’ created some hilarious images.

A recent attempt to create a photo-like image of a female Australian herbalist in her 40’s created some amusing results (which one is you?)

Is AI a threat to practice?

This technology can potentially improve differential diagnosis and offers new insights into treatment. Automation can streamline business practices and free up precious time.

There have been many ‘threats’, modifications and amendments to how complementary medicine is practiced over the past 30 years. Our knowledge and traditions have been cherry picked by pharma, conventional medicine and lay influencers. AI is just another step in the evolution and dissemination of our collective wisdom, like it or not.

AI can motivate us to be the best possible practitioners. Those who don’t bring unique insights and experience to clinical practice are ultimately replaceable. Potential clients will access sites that diagnose and dispense for free or a comparatively lower price point.

What practitioners bring to the table is their own special sauce. You don’t need to be a naturopath to access tests and AI will interpret the results in seconds. But how you convey and translate the data into practical information, with empathy and experience, is part of our value-added service.

What is truly unique to your offering that will never be outdated?

Mentoring with Gill Stannard

I work with established health practitioners and business owners, big and small, to create a balanced and sustainable career.

I’ve been helping practitioners build successful businesses, in alignment with their values, vision and lifestyle, for more then two decades.

In addition to 1:1 business mentoring and professional supervision of cancer and complex cases I run workshops and share free resources on my mentoring

In 2022 I celebrated 30 years in practice. It’s an honour to continue to serve my clients and my profession.

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