The question researchers asked
Researchers at the Columbia University School of Nursing surveyed more than 1,100 patients of varied ages and ethnic backgrounds with a simple tradeoff: would you rather get an AI-generated answer within five minutes, or wait up to 48 hours for a doctor or nurse to review the AI's answer first?
The answers depended entirely on what the message was about.
What patients said
For logistics, speed wins. For appointment scheduling and prescription refills, 57% of patients wanted the faster AI response. About half wanted fast AI answers for general, non-medical questions too. Nobody wants to wait two days to reschedule a Tuesday appointment.
For medical questions, humans win. For symptoms, treatment questions, and clinical concerns, 63% of patients preferred to wait for a human professional to review the message — even if it took up to 48 hours. As lead researcher Natalie Benda put it, when patients have a medical question, they want to hear from their doctor, not just an algorithm.
For mental health, the preference is strongest. 64% of patients said they would wait up to three months for support from a human therapist, compared with only 44% who would use an immediate AI-only chatbot. Women and Generation Z participants showed an especially strong preference for human review.
What this means (and what it does not)
This was a survey of patient preferences, not a clinical trial of any particular product. It does not prove that human-reviewed AI produces better outcomes. What it does show, clearly, is what patients want: AI that works with their clinician, not AI that replaces them.
That distinction matters because the mental health app market keeps blurring it. An AI-only chatbot and a clinician-supervised platform are not two flavors of the same thing. Patients can tell the difference, and this survey suggests they have a strong preference about which one they trust with their health.
How we built MPowerMe around this
MPowerMe's asynchronous portal messaging was designed for exactly the pattern these patients describe. The AI helps draft, organize, and respond quickly — especially for the logistical and informational messages where patients want speed. But clinical content stays under human oversight. The technology accelerates the conversation; it does not substitute for the clinician in it.
We think the survey got something important right: the question was never "AI or human?" Patients answered it as "AI with human review, please" — fast where speed matters, careful where care matters.
Source: Baines, E. (2026, October 16). Patients prefer human medical advice over immediate AI. Nursing Times. https://www.nursingtimes.net/digital-and-technology/patients-prefer-human-medical-advice-over-immediate-ai-16-10-2026/
This article discusses published research and is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice.