Major health systems are weaving GenAI into clinical intake and decision-making, with programs like Mass General Brigham's Care Connect and parallel efforts at Cedars-Sinai and Mayo Clinic enabling AI-generated diagnoses and treatment plans that physicians review, signaling AI involvement in core clinical reasoning.

If these approaches prove successful, they could spur widespread adoption across states and draw heightened regulatory attention, especially if the FDA classifies AI tools as non-device medical aids.

These tools are expected to integrate with home medical devices and wearables, enabling continuous monitoring, interpretation of home test results, and 24/7 clinical guidance without in-person visits, expanding AI's role in everyday patient management.

A Utah pilot lets an AI system renew prescriptions for chronic diseases without direct clinician oversight, illustrating government-level experimentation with AI-enabled prescribing to improve chronic disease control.

Three likely changes emerge: primary care broadening its scope and becoming more problem-solving and AI-assisted; specialty care becoming more procedural and high-volume-centered; and health systems reorganizing around value-based care to reduce inpatient beds and spur outpatient efficiency through AI-driven outcomes.

GenAI is moving from aiding clinicians to replacing substantial portions of clinical work, evidenced by shifts among health systems, tech companies, and government policy.

Overall, the piece argues a seismic disruptive shift, with GenAI embedded in clinical workflows, patient self-management, and policy experiments, moving beyond augmentation toward replacing certain clinician functions.

Big tech is expanding patient-facing AI apps, with OpenAI's ChatGPT Health linking personal medical records to guidance and Anthropic's Claude for Healthcare, signaling a blurring line between diagnostic guidance and medical decision-making.

Evidence from Cedars-Sinai virtual urgent care shows AI-generated initial diagnoses and treatment plans often align with higher-quality recommendations than physicians’ final decisions, underscoring AI’s growing role in patient care.