At her local hospital, Tracy, a 43-year-old from Arkansas, is a medical exam technician who helps patients prevent, test for, and treat disease. At home, Tracy, much like many with sick family, is a caregiver who is constantly researching for the best ways to take care of her loved ones. 

Amidst the many health struggles she deals with, Tracy has found MDandMe’s Arora to be an unwavering pillar of support, paying attention to the details our overloaded healthcare systems often miss. How can AI revolutionize the ways patients are, at the doctor’s office, advocating for themselves?

A global survey in 2022 found that only 44% of respondents would trust the application of AI to healthcare. Only 2 years later, mass adoption of AI technologies has dramatically strengthened trust, with some surveys showing over 60% of people putting more faith into AI than human doctors. This we believe, is also premature in situations with potentially dire consequences. But it is now undeniable that AI is already an in enabling individuals to make sense of their health when a doctor is not around.

Such is the case for 43-year-old medical exam technician Tracy, who does a lot of healthcare research on the daily. From managing her multiple chronic illnesses to balancing caregiving for family members with cancer to working in a hospital herself, she’s found MDandMe invaluable in providing the bigger picture of medical struggles. 

Her story with MDandMe is one that shares how, in our overloaded healthcare system, AI can support patients in paying attention to small details and hearing their story in full.

Hi, Tracy, it’s great to meet you! Can you tell me a little about yourself? 

"I'm 43. I live in the south, particularly in Arkansas. I work for our local hospital as an exam technician. I have many chronic illnesses, including lupus, neuropathy, and fibromyalgia, although I don't really see anything. The main one’s hypertension, but it's not classic hypertension. They were classifying it, because it's hard to treat hypertension, but now it’s being treated on meds. They finally found the right combination."

Like many people, she sees a wide range of specialists: an oncologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, and more, who she sees depending on what she’s struggling with. 

Do you feel like the healthcare system meets your needs?

"Absolutely not. No, they tend to put people into rigid buckets, without paying attention to the fact that there's a lot more. Your patient could have these symptoms, these labs, this experience, this family history, and I feel like they should spend more time listening."

How do you tend to approach healthcare?

"I do a lot of self research. I was a caregiver for a lot of my family that has passed away from cancer. Don’t take everything you see online, because everything might tell you, you’re dying! So I have a lot of knowledge on labs that go together and stuff like that, but MDandMe’s Arora had more knowledge that I wasn't aware of." 

How do you use technology in your health journey?

"I use health trackers just to keep track of things. I use self-created Excel spreadsheets to track my labs and graph them. And then, I've recently started using the AI technology that's coming out, like MDandMe, just because they are able to compile data that you give them so quickly and against so many resources."

Much like how Tracy tracks her health, a study published in Age and Aging found that patients who proactively use technology to manage their chronic illnesses experienced an over 25% decrease in hospital admissions. 

Do you feel confident in MDandMe’s technology?

"I do. I do 100%, because you get to say everything you want to say. You're not rushed or talked over. You just get to put it all out there, and then it's pulling information from all these reputable sources, and compiling what is more likely than not.

I'm just thankful that there's an AI that can provide all this information and give you something that you can bring to your doctor. Currently, doctors are not going to be very receptive. This is the same as Googling to them. But sometimes, you can see a legitimate thing and bring it to your doctor and say, look at this. This is a trend. This is correlated. I'm just bringing it to your attention."

Indeed, Tracy says her experience with MDandMe has empowered her to take control of her own health journey. Arora has done more than just confirm her research—she’s helped her identify patterns, data-driven insights, and provide a more comprehensive understanding of her medical struggles.

Having an app that integrated where you could enter your lab every week when you got them done, or everything literally going on with you, even what was happening with your current doctor, could just give you that bigger picture.

In reality, physicians spend, on average, 16 minutes per patient updating their Electronic Health Record. MDandMe is taking the first step to allow physicians to fully dedicate that time and more to interacting with you, and understanding your story instead.

What message do you want to share with the world?

"Years ago, I had this syndrome when I was pregnant with my daughter, and I kept telling the doctor something wasn't alright. They literally found out two weeks before, and I had to have her a C section and have her two weeks early. You've gotta keep your voice going.

So, if you know that something is going on, you should stick with it. Be your own advocate—even though it’s hard! MDandMe will be right there with you."

This is an on-going series sharing the stories of MDandMe users. Do you want your story told? Email william@mdme.ai

Note: This transcript and the interviewee’s name were edited to maintain anonymity.