Why AI Is About to Change Your Doctor’s Job Forever
An interview with Clint Phillips, Founder and CEO at Medici
Q: Telehealth became a major topic during the pandemic. Could you share the story behind Medici and what inspired you to start this company?
The pandemic was wild! We went from begging doctors to try telemedicine to being overwhelmed. Most doctors saw telemedicine as a nuisance at best and, at worst, likely to kill someone. This changed so quickly, and doctors started to call us. We went from 100 individual doctors to 2,000 clinics in a matter of weeks.
Our reason for starting was much deeper. I had already built 2nd.MD, the most remarkable panel of virtual specialists in the world, after my baby daughter had a stroke. We struggled greatly to find a pediatric neurologist for her, so we sold our clinic and bet it all that we could attract top specialists to give us their nights and weekends to change lives in complicated cases.
America’s biggest companies signed up over 9 million people to support their employees. It was 100% virtual, and we were shocked that we could solve such complex situations. We sold it in 2021 for $460M when we realized we wanted to help people prevent sickness. Medici is the dream that could have stopped my daughter from having a stroke in the first place.
Q: How is Medici leveraging AI in its technology? Has AI expanded the scope of Medici’s services?
We always knew AI would be a game-changer; we just never knew how quickly this would happen. Things we hoped we could do by 2030 are being done today by our team. Here are just three areas where AI is changing the game at Medici.
Firstly, we can now scan your face from any smartphone and assess your blood pressure, stroke risk, heart attack risk, skin age, stress, and more. In other words, we have more data points on a virtual person than if they go into a traditional doctor's office.
Secondly, once a year, we do an annual physical. We have a camera that can take full-body photos, and AI tracks every lesion/mole on someone's body from year to year.
Thirdly, we have trained an AI with all the greatest thinking on prevention that gives a level of advice that has never been seen before.
Q: Do you think AI will allow us to create personalized patient care and even personalized medicine?
Absolutely! Because we can combine real-time data like your face scan or blood work with your medical history, the guidance we can now give is completely tailored. My team has added my executive physical and DNA results into the mix, and it's profound and a little scary. We know how I will most likely die and what we can do to delay it by 15+ years.
Q: How is AI reshaping career paths in healthcare? Do you see the future of medical care being AI-augmented?
The most insightful statement I've encountered is that doctors won’t be replaced by AI; they will be replaced by doctors using AI. Imagine going back to a traditional doctor after getting care from a Medici doctor who enables you to scan your health weekly and runs your data through AI, analyzing you compared to 30 million research papers to ensure the best diagnosis and treatment plans. Most careers inside and outside healthcare will suffer similar fates.
Q: What skills will professionals need in an AI-augmented workplace? How do you see AI changing the future of work, and what can people do now to prepare for these changes?
People have to learn to question every task they do and ask how AI can help them do it better. I don’t care if you are a barista; there is a way to get better with AI. Decide now that you will lead the trend and not be at the mercy of it.
