Health · Healthcare & Policy · 6 hrs ago
Doctors say humans must remain accountable as AI enters healthcare
Two doctors say clinicians must remain accountable as artificial intelligence becomes more common in healthcare.
Andrew S. Parsons of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Adam Rodman of Harvard Medical School say AI can already match or exceed doctors on some tasks, including diagnosing cases from written records.
But choosing care depends on each patient's circumstances, goals and willingness to accept risks, not just on finding a likely diagnosis.
Medical guidelines and studies may not fit people with several health conditions or different life circumstances.
The doctors argue that clinicians must weigh options with patients and take responsibility for the decisions and their outcomes.
AI may improve the information doctors use, but it cannot own the consequences for a patient.
The doctors say physicians should welcome AI's growing accuracy while continuing to make and answer for individual care decisions.
Two doctors argue that human clinicians must remain accountable as artificial intelligence takes on more work in healthcare.
Andrew S. Parsons and Adam Rodman say AI can match or exceed doctors in some tasks, including diagnosing cases from written information and electronic health records.
They argue that choosing care requires weighing a patient's circumstances, goals and tolerance for risk.
The doctors say clinicians must reason about decisions and answer for their outcomes, even when AI informs them.
Their commentary was published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
- Who
- Andrew S. Parsons of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Adam Rodman of Harvard Medical School.
- What
- They argue that doctors must retain responsibility for patient-care decisions as AI becomes more capable.
- When
- The commentary was published in 2026; the article was published on October 14, 2026.
- Where
- The commentary appeared in Annals of Internal Medicine.
- Why
- The authors say care decisions depend on individual patients' circumstances and goals, and clinicians must answer for the risks and outcomes.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Parsons and Rodman published their commentary, Risk, Accountability, and the Clinician’s Role in the Artificial Intelligence Era, in Annals of Internal Medicine.
News-Medical published its article about the commentary.
- Authors
- Andrew S. Parsons and Adam Rodman
- Journal
- Annals of Internal Medicine
- Journal article year
- 2026
- AI capabilities cited
- Diagnosing written cases and electronic health records
- Article publication
- October 14, 2026 at 20:08 UTC
What people are saying
We contend that the clinician's enduring role is accountability: owning the risk of acting under uncertainty and answering for the decision that follows
Deviating from the technically correct answer is often good medicine, and someone must answer for that deviation.
Artificial intelligence will keep improving the information that feeds these decisions, but it cannot take ownership of what happens next.