As we approach the end of 2024, First Opinion is publishing a series of essays on the state of AI in medicine and biopharma.
When I worked as a social worker at a community clinic in Detroit, I often saw James (not his real name), a patient receiving Medicaid benefits who was grappling with chronic substance use. Every appointment revealed a deeper, more disturbing layer of systemic disarray impacting James’ life and care: fragmented health records, conflicting medication lists, incomplete therapy session notes, and scattered commentary on detox treatments. This disorganized care record frequently delayed his treatment, given how long it took me to piece together his medical history and, as a result, how little time was left to address his immediate care needs.
This experience was by no means abnormal. Many patients came to me only after an avoidable visit to the hospital. Access to proactive preventive care, however, is hard to come by when care records are fragmented and disorganized or when the chaotic lives of patients like James make keeping regular primary care appointments difficult, even impossible, without adequate support.
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