Dr. Wachter Bets on A Giant Leap for AI in Health Care
By Jane Sarasohn-Kahn on 17 February 2026 in Affordability, AI, AI and health, AIDS, Artificial intelligence, Augmented intelligence, Behavior change, Big Tech, Bioethics, ChatGPT, Chronic disease, Computers and health, Connected health, Consumer experience, Design and health, Digital transformation, Doctors, Empathy, Future of health care, Health citizenship, Health Consumers, Health costs, Health ecosystem, Health education, Health engagement, Health equity, Health media, Health Quality, Health social networks, Healthcare access, HIV/AIDS, Large language models LLMs, media and health, Medical school, Medical technology, Misinformation and health, Participatory health, Patient engagement, Patient experience, Personalized medicine, Physicians, Politics and health, Popular culture and health, Primary care, Self-care, Shared decision making, Social networks and health, Trust, User experience UX, Virtual health
“Stop worrying and let AI help save your life,” a New York Times op-ed prescribed in January. So I wanted to ask Dr. Robert Wachter, author of that essay, “why not worry?” and read his latest book, A Giant Leap, before speaking with him. I spent time with Bob on a Zoom session last week to dig into some patient/consumer-facing issues regarding AI and health care. Before I launch into our engaging conversation, I’d like to share some context about Dr. Wachter and his evolution that I believe makes him
One of the best aspects of my work is collaborating across the health/care ecosystem to address how health citizens can deal with health care costs and and care for families. I'm grateful to have collaborated with Fidelity on their research into this issue, which you can access at the link here.
I'm gratified to be named on this updated list of 16 women's voices who are shaping health care. The curator of the list, Dorlee Michaeli, asked the question: "If someone wanted a smarter healthcare LinkedIn feed tomorrow, who should they follow today?" Glad to be one of these voices.
I’m celebrating America’s 250th birthday both patriotically and professionally, honored that the NLM included my 2010 paper, “How Smartphones Are Changing Healthcare for Consumers and Patients” as one of 250 items curated for the digital archive of 250 Years of American Medicine.