Every year on July 1, India celebrates Doctors’ Day to honour the great Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy — a doctor, teacher, and leader whose life stood for service to humanity. It is a day to thank doctors for standing by patients in times of fear, illness, and uncertainty. But in 2026, medicine is changing faster than ever before. One of the biggest reasons for this change is Artificial Intelligence or AI. Today, before meeting a doctor, many people first turn to the ‘doctor’ in their pocket — their mobile phone. They search their symptoms online, read articles, ask AI chatbots, and often come to the clinic with a ready-made diagnosis. In many ways, this is a positive change. Health information is now easier to access than ever before. A mother in a small town can quickly learn the warning signs of dengue. An elderly man living alone can use a wearable device to track his blood pressure or sugar levels. Families can understand diseases better and seek help earlier. AI has made healthcare information more available to the common person, and that is a powerful step forward.But there is another side to this story. Too much information without proper understanding can create unnecessary fear. As doctors, we are seeing more and more patients who are not just sick, but deeply anxious because of what they have read online. A simple headache can look like a brain tumour after a Google search. A mild cough may suddenly feel like lung cancer. A little chest discomfort can become a ‘heart attack’ in the mind even before reaching the hospital. Recently, I met a young man who had been suffering from a stress-related headache. After spending hours reading online and asking AI platforms, he became convinced that he had a serious brain disease. After examination, the actual problem was simple — dehydration, lack of sleep, and stress. His real illness was not dangerous, but the fear created by information had become a much bigger problem. This is what I call ‘digital anxiety’. AI and internet platforms often show every possible disease linked to a symptom, but they cannot tell you which one is most likely. A trained doctor can. This often leads to unnecessary panic, extra tests, wasted money, and sometimes even wrong treatment.Another big change in healthcare today is the culture of ratings and reviews. Doctors are now often judged the same way people rate hotels or restaurants — with stars and online comments. While feedback is important, healthcare is much more complicated than that. A doctor treating very serious or high-risk patients may naturally have tougher outcomes than someone dealing only with simple cases. A doctor who speaks honestly about a difficult illness may receive a poor review because the truth is painful to hear. A doctor who refuses to give unnecessary antibiotics may be seen as “not doing enough”. This shows the limitation of online ratings — they often measure satisfaction, not quality. Yet this does not mean AI is bad. In fact, AI is one of the most powerful tools modern medicine has ever seen. It can detect cancers early, study scans quickly, find patterns in reports, and help doctors make faster decisions. In elderly care, AI has brought new hope. Smart watches can track heartbeats and oxygen levels. AI can help detect early signs of memory loss, dementia, or heart problems. Virtual assistants can remind older people to take medicines, and even offer companionship to reduce loneliness. In villages and small towns where doctors may not always be available, AI can become a bridge to healthcare.But even with all this progress, one truth remains unchanged — medicine is not just science; it is deeply human. A doctor does not only listen to symptoms. A doctor listens to fear, notices silence, reads body language, understands family problems, and senses emotions. Sometimes the real illness is hidden not in a test report, but in the life story of the patient. AI can study reports, but it cannot hold the hand of a frightened patient. It cannot comfort a worried family. It cannot understand loneliness, grief, or hope. That human connection is the soul of healing. On this Doctors’ Day, we must welcome technology, but also protect trust between doctors and patients. Use AI. Read. Ask questions. Stay informed. But do not let the internet decide your illness. Bring your doubts to your doctor and trust the trained mind and experienced heart sitting in front of you. Dr BC Roy believed that medicine is both science and service — and that truth remains timeless. Technology will keep changing, but healing will always need something no machine can create: human understanding, compassion, and wisdom. That is the true strength of a doctor — and that is why doctors will always remain essential.(Write is senior geriatrician and secretary general of Association of International Doctors)
