Medical professionals from the United Arab Emirates warn that there is a clear boundary between using artificial intelligence to understand one's health and relying on it in cases requiring medical intervention. Although many people turn to ChatGPT for answers to health questions—for example, regarding headaches, unusual test results, or starting new medications—doctors emphasize that AI cannot replace professional medical care.
This caution comes amid growing public interest in using artificial intelligence to obtain health information. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2026: Trust and Health Special Report, 59 percent of respondents in the UAE use AI to manage their health, which is significantly higher than the global average of 35 percent.
Doctors note that AI can be useful for answering basic questions, clarifying medical terminology, and assisting patients in preparing for a specialist visit. However, it is incapable of performing a patient examination, considering the full medical history, or making critically important treatment decisions.
Dr. Birdjis Shaikh, an internal medicine specialist and head of the emergency department at Aster Cedars Hospital and Clinic in Jebel Ali, reported that patients use AI for a wide range of queries. They ask about possible causes of symptoms, the seriousness of a condition, the meaning of an abnormal blood test, the need for antibiotics, and potential drug side effects.
According to Dr. Shaikh, AI is effective in explaining common illnesses such as asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes. It can also provide general information on nutrition and exercise, helping people understand which symptoms they should discuss with their treating physician.
Nevertheless, doctors stress the limitations of AI. They assert that it should not be relied upon for diagnosing serious diseases, interpreting complex scans or pathology reports, prescribing medication, or making key treatment decisions.
There are symptoms that should not prompt another question in a chatbot but should immediately necessitate seeking medical attention. Dr. Shaikh specifically highlighted that chest pain or pressure, especially if it radiates to the arm, jaw, back, or shoulder, requires urgent attention. Similarly, severe shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, seizures, sudden weakness or numbness, difficulty speaking, sudden vision problems, or severe sudden headache warrant immediate action.
Other alarming signs include coughing up blood, severe bleeding, blueing of the lips or fingertips, high fever with confusion or difficulty breathing, severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, and severe allergic reactions. In such situations, patients should seek immediate medical help rather than relying on AI.
Dr. Shaikh cited an example of a patient who suffered from fever and cough for five days, continuing to use symptomatic treatment and home remedies instead of seeing a doctor. The patient only sought medical attention on the sixth day, after which tests revealed pneumonia requiring hospitalization. Such cases demonstrate one of the main risks of over-reliance on online advice—it can lead to delayed treatment while the patient's condition worsens.
Dr. Najib Salah Abdulrahman, a gastroenterologist at International Modern Hospital Dubai, noted that AI can be particularly useful when patients are trying to decipher complex medical terminology. He stated that people can use it to explain terms in a report, learn about a disease, or prepare questions before meeting with a doctor.
However, as Dr. Abdulrahman emphasized, symptoms cannot always be understood independently. For instance, abdominal pain can have numerous causes. When deciding what is wrong, doctors take into account the patient's age, medical history, current medications, diet, other symptoms, and examination results. Blood tests, scans, endoscopy, or other examinations may also be required. A chatbot does not possess all this information. Dr. Abdulrahman proposed a simple principle for users of health AI: 'Use AI to help you ask better questions, not to give yourself a final diagnosis.'
Despite the rapid adoption of AI, the Edelman survey showed that trust in doctors in the UAE remains high: about 89 percent of respondents are confident that their doctor will tell them the truth about their health problems. Doctors conclude that AI can contribute to better health understanding, but in cases of serious symptoms, consulting a medical specialist remains the safest course of action.
