The news: At a recent MAHA event, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said AI can give patients a second opinion that is better informed than any doctor. In response, six physician groups, including the American Medical Association, issued a statement (without naming Kennedy) warning that claims that AI is better informed than physicians can undermine patient trust and diminish physician expertise.

Why it matters: The government’s top health official is giving AI greater credence as a source of health guidance and elevating its role in checking doctors’ advice. Kennedy also referenced a conversation he had with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who told him it would be “malpractice” for doctors to make a diagnosis or write a prescription without consulting AI.

Consumers are bringing AI health information into the exam room and using for second opinions. Sixty percent of doctors and nurses say patients frequently or very frequently arrive at appointments with AI-generated information, per a March Wolters Kluwer survey. Meanwhile, 69% of US adults have used AI to get a second opinion after a medical appointment, and 45% have done so more than once, per a February Tebra survey.

But patients draw a clear line: they learn about their health from AI, and turn to doctors to inform decisions. While 53% of consumers trust AI to help them understand symptoms and 47% to learn about a condition, only 9% trust it to help manage an ongoing condition, per an April Phreesia survey.

Implications for healthcare providers and marketers: No single message is likely to change how patients perceive their doctors. But Kennedy’s push to use AI for health guidance and question medical experts comes alongside messaging from AI companies positioning their tools as trustworthy health information sources. That could make patients more likely to check their doctors’ advice against AI. In turn, physicians may need to spend time explaining why their clinical guidance may differ from what patients have learned from AI.

How doctors respond when patients bring them AI-generated health information could also influence trust in doctors’ guidance. Providers and health marketers can anticipate the questions and information patients may bring from AI when developing patient communications and resources. That will be especially important when what patients learn from AI conflicts with what their doctor tells them.