Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Participatory Medicine
Date Submitted: Dec 8, 2024
Date Accepted: Nov 14, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Empowered Patients in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
ABSTRACT
This paper examines how artificial intelligence (AI) tools can empower patients to better understand and engage with their healthcare information, using a detailed case study of a patient-caregiver experience navigating a complex neurological diagnosis. Through analysis of real-world implementation, we identify three key areas where AI demonstrates particular value: medical document interpretation, treatment research, and healthcare system navigation. The paper provides practical frameworks for utilizing AI tools in each domain, with specific emphasis on prompt engineering and verification protocols. We present evidence that proper AI implementation can compress the timeline between receiving medical information and taking informed action, while enhancing rather than replacing the patient-provider relationship. Our findings indicate that AI-assisted preparation leads to more productive medical consultations by enabling patients to arrive with well-researched questions and better understanding of their conditions. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for leveraging AI tools effectively while preserving the essential human elements of healthcare delivery, ultimately demonstrating how AI can transform the patient experience from passive confusion to active engagement.
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.