When Tammy MacDonald needed a new primary care doctor, she faced a surprise. After her previous doctor passed away, she reached out to ten practices near her home in Massachusetts. To her shock, all of them were fully booked. Some offered appointments after waiting a year and a half.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Tammy said. “Boston is known for its great healthcare. How could there be no doctors available?”
She’s not alone. About 17% of adults in the U.S. currently lack a primary care provider. This shortage has hit Massachusetts particularly hard, with many practices struggling to meet patient needs.
Tammy turned to Mass General Brigham, which recently launched an AI-supported program called Care Connect. After receiving a letter from them that no doctors were available, she decided to give it a try. Using the app, she quickly set up a telehealth appointment, chatting with an AI for about ten minutes before speaking with a real doctor.
“I got an appointment almost right away,” she recalled. “It was such a relief compared to waiting two years.”
Care Connect aims to help patients with common health issues, from colds to chronic disease management. It operates 24/7, offering convenience to those with busy schedules.
Mass General Brigham has employed around 12 doctors to assist with AI interactions. For routine tasks like note-taking and billing, AI tools are becoming popular in many healthcare settings. Advocates believe these technologies can alleviate the stress healthcare staff face, but there are concerns. Critics worry AI might overlook critical details about patients’ lives and health.
Dr. Madhuri Rao, a primary care physician at Mass General Brigham, shared her frustration. “The focus seems to be more on specialties than primary care,” she said. She is part of a movement to unionize the primary care team at her hospital.
To combat the shortage, Mass General Brigham has pledged $400 million over five years to improve primary care services, though some staff worry that much of this budget will go towards AI tools rather than direct care.
“Care Connect is a short-term fix,” says Dr. Michael Barnett, another MGB internist. “It doesn’t address the root causes of the primary care crisis.”
As healthcare systems adapt, the conversation continues about the balance between technology and traditional care. Dr. Steven Lin from Stanford Medicine believes AI is useful for urgent care but not a full replacement for human doctors.
“At the end of the day, patients with serious or multiple health concerns need a doctor who knows them well,” he pointed out.
The future of primary care might heavily rely on the blend of AI and human interaction, but for many patients, access to timely healthcare is the most pressing issue of all.
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