AI, Self-Care, and the Patient Experience: Will Patients Feel More Empowered—or More Alone?

An article in Becker’s Hospital Review caught my attention this week. In “5 big healthcare predictions for 2027: Forrester,” Mackenzie Bean reports that healthcare faces an “identity crisis” as patients increasingly seek guidance and services outside traditional healthcare settings. Among Forrester’s predictions: more than half of U.S. consumers will turn to public AI tools first for healthcare guidance in 2027. That is a prediction, not a certainty, but it raises important questions about patient experience, quality, and safety. [1]

After more than 50 years in healthcare, I see both opportunity and concern. I want patients to have information. I want them to ask questions, understand their care, and participate in decisions. AI can help them do that. But access to an answer and knowing what to do with it are two very different things.

This is personal for me. I recently turned to AI to better understand symptoms I was experiencing. It helped me organize what I was feeling, explore a possible explanation, and ask more informed questions. I then followed up with my physician, who evaluated me, and I am now under her care. My nursing background certainly helped me frame the right questions, assess what I was reading, and recognize that an AI response was not a diagnosis. But what about the patient without that background? Will that individual know when the information is useful, when it may be wrong, and when professional care is essential?

For those of us in patient experience, the central question is this: Does AI-assisted self-care help patients feel more informed, capable, and supported—or does it give them more responsibility while leaving them to manage alone?

Self-Care Is Not New—AI Is the Next Step

I was recently waiting in line at Walgreens for a flu shot when I noticed a display of home health products: blood pressure and blood glucose monitors, pulse oximeters, pregnancy tests, paternity tests, and other products. I thought about how normal it has become for people to monitor and manage aspects of their own health outside a traditional healthcare setting.

We have encouraged patients to take an active role in their health for years. Home monitoring can help people notice changes, follow a treatment plan, and arrive at an appointment with useful information. AI may be another step in that evolution—a tool that helps patients interpret questions they want to ask and decide what information to bring to a clinician. But there is an important distinction: measuring a blood pressure at home is not the same as knowing what a concerning result means, and an AI-generated explanation is not the same as a clinical assessment.

The opportunity is real. So is our responsibility to make sure patients understand the difference.

When AI Can Help

Think about a patient who leaves an appointment and later realizes they did not understand everything discussed. Perhaps the patient was anxious, overwhelmed, or uncomfortable asking one more question.

AI might help that person translate unfamiliar terminology into everyday language, organize questions for a follow-up call, or prepare a clearer account of symptoms and concerns. Used thoughtfully, with appropriate professional guidance, it can support understanding and participation.

That matters because the patient experience does not end when the appointment ends. It continues at home, when the patient looks at the medication instructions, reviews test results, notices a new symptom, or decides whether to call for help.

There is an opportunity for healthcare professionals as well. When a patient arrives with information obtained through AI, we can say, “Tell me what you found. What concerns you? Let’s go through it together.” That conversation can build trust. Dismissing the patient simply because they consulted AI can shut the conversation down.

When Self-Care Becomes Another Burden

My concern begins when healthcare organizations confuse providing technology with providing support. Imagine a patient discharged with written instructions, a portal login, and access to an AI assistant. The organization may see a successful digital transition. Yet the patient may still be unsure of the care plan, unable to afford the medication, or frightened about managing at home.

Who recognizes that uncertainty? Who follows through? And who is accountable if the patient misunderstands what to do next?

AI can offer useful information, but it can also produce inaccurate, incomplete, or overly confident responses. It may not know a patient’s full history, circumstances, or the urgency of a symptom. Patients must know its limits, understand how their information is handled, and have an easy way to reach a qualified healthcare professional.

To me, genuine self-care means empowerment with a safety net. If the introduction of a digital tool makes it harder to speak with a person, we need to question whether we have actually improved the patient experience.

Cultural Competence Still Matters

We cannot assume every patient approaches self-care with the same resources, abilities, beliefs, or expectations. Language, health literacy, disability, cultural background, access to technology, and family involvement all influence whether a tool is helpful or becomes another obstacle.

Forrester also predicts that increased use of at-home diagnostics could widen health inequities if people with greater financial resources are the first to benefit. [1] That concern should be central—not an afterthought—to how we design AI-supported care.

A culturally competent approach begins by listening. Can the patient understand the information? Does the technology fit the patient’s language and preferences? Is a family member or caregiver part of the decision-making process? Is there a non-digital option when needed?

We need to ask who benefits, who struggles, and who might be left out. Patient choice only has meaning when the choices are accessible and the necessary support is available.

What Our PXS™ Program Brings to This Conversation

At PXAcademy, our Patient Experience Specialist (PXS™) program prepares professionals to lead meaningful improvements in patient experience. Its five domains—Strategy; Patient-Centric Culture and Accountability; Measurement and Analysis; Improvement and Design; and Voice of the Customer/Voice of the Patient and Intelligence—provide a practical framework for evaluating AI-assisted self-care.

Strategy: What patient problem are we trying to solve, and how will AI improve the experience?
Patient-centric culture and accountability: Who takes responsibility when the patient needs clarification or the technology fails?
Measurement and analysis: Are patients more confident about their next steps? Are outcomes or experiences different across patient populations?
Improvement and design: Where does AI fit in the patient journey, and how easily can a patient move from a digital interaction to a human one?
Voice of the patient: Have patients and families helped shape the service, and are we acting on what they tell us?

These questions take us beyond whether the technology works. Fewer calls and faster response times may be attractive operational measures, but I also want to know whether patients felt heard, understood their care, had their concerns resolved, and knew where to turn for help.

Healthcare’s Role Is Changing

As patients find new ways to seek information and manage their health, healthcare organizations will need to reconsider how they engage and support them. I believe that work should begin with curiosity rather than defensiveness. Why are people turning elsewhere first? Is it convenience? A delayed appointment? Privacy? Or have we created an environment where patients do not feel comfortable asking questions?

Their behavior tells us something important about the experience we are providing. We should listen.

AI-assisted self-care can strengthen the patient experience when it increases understanding, respects individual needs, and creates a better connection to professional care. It can weaken that experience when it causes confusion, creates inequity, or transfers responsibility to patients without adequate support.

I support patients becoming more engaged in their own care. My experience reinforced for me how valuable AI can be as a source of questions and preparation—not as a substitute for a professional diagnosis or an ongoing relationship with a healthcare team. Our responsibility as patient experience leaders is to design systems that recognize both its promise and its limitations.

Ultimately, I want every patient to be able to say: “I understand what happens next. I have a voice in my care. And I know someone will be there when I need help.”

That is what empowered self-care—and an excellent patient experience—should look like.