Most U.S. doctors are quietly using this AI tool. Few patients know about it

Nbcwashington · 🇮🇳 public India · May 13, 2026 · 3096 words · By Jared Perlo; NBC News

Medical Accuracy vs. Efficiency Patient Privacy and Data Security AI Integration in Healthcare

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What to know about Medical Accuracy vs. Efficiency

Your doctor is probably using AI, even if they haven’t told you about it.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Your doctor is probably using AI, even if they haven’t told you about it.

Why it matters

Over the past two years, medical providers across America have quietly embraced a new AI tool called OpenEvidence to help them make clinical decisions, brush up on medical knowledge and even prepare for their licensing exams.

Common ground

The service, a sort of chatbot for doctors, was used by about 65% of U.S.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Medical Accuracy vs. Efficiency story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that In April, leading AI company OpenAI launched its own version of OpenEvidence called ChatGPT for Clinicians?
How does this story connect Medical Accuracy vs. Efficiency with Patient Privacy and Data Security over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/most-us-doctors-use-th…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

info Single Source 3

check_circle Corroborated 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified 2

cancel Disputed 1

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Claim 1: “In April, leading AI company OpenAI launched its own version of OpenEvidence called ChatGPT for Clinicians”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 2: “Almost two-thirds of physicians — or roughly 650,000 doctors — in the U.S. actively use OpenEvidence, while another 1.2 million use it internationally, OpenEvidence representatives said.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence mentions the company is used by over 40% of U.S. physicians, but does not mention the specific numbers of 650,000 U.S. or 1.2 million international physicians.

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web search NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence is an American artificial intelligence company that develops a medical search engine used by physicians for clinical decision support. The company was founded in 2022 by entrepreneur Dani…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenEvidence

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web search NEUTRAL — Currently active across more than 10,000 hospitals and medical centers nationwide, OpenEvidence is used by over 40% of physicians in the United States who log in daily, with approximately 65,000 new v…
https://hlth.com/insights/news/openevidence-raises-210m-laun…

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web search NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence entered 2026 on an extraordinary growth arc. In January 2026, the Miami-based company closed a $250 Million Series D led by Thrive Capital and DST Global, doubling its valuation to $12 Bi…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/openevidence-chatgpt-doctors-…

info

Claim 3: “The startup raised $700 million in less than a year and is backed by the glitziest names in the venture capital business: Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, Nvidia, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital and more.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While evidence mentions a $250 Million Series D and a $210M raise, there is no evidence in the provided text confirming a total of $700 million raised in less than a year or the specific list of all named VC backers.

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web search NEUTRAL — America's Official Medical Knowledge Platform. OpenEvidence is the leading medical platform for healthcare professionals, featuring answers grounded in peer-reviewed research from NEJM, JAMA, NCCN, Co…
https://www.openevidence.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence is a platform offering evidence-based research and data for informed decision-making.
http://openevidence.org/

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Claim 4: “A recent survey by the American Medical Association found that over 80% of physician respondents currently use some form of AI.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent sources report the AMA survey results, specifically citing that 81% (which is over 80%) of physicians use AI professionally.

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web search NEUTRAL — 81% of physicians now use AI professionally — more than double since 2023, according to the AMA 2026 Survey. However, the most significant statistic is that 88% of physicians believe robust safety and…
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/varunnambiar-ai_more-than-80-…

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web search NEUTRAL — The American Medical Association’s Center for Digital Health and AI, launched last year by the association, shows 81% of physicians use AI in their practices. That’s more than double the 38% rate of u…
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2026/03/12/four-in-…

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web search NEUTRAL — Physicians generally support patient use of AI for general health and medication questions, but most are wary of patient use for tasks requiring clinical judgment. Nearly half strongly oppose patients…
https://megadoctornews.com/ama-survey-shows-81-of-doctors-no…

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Claim 5: “about 2,000 hospitals and health systems have signed up for Expert AI as of April 30.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found regarding UpToDate's Expert AI or the number of hospitals signed up as of April 30.

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Claim 6: “OpenEvidence has also struck agreements with specialized medical organizations like the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the American Diabetes Association to provide the latest and most relevant treatment guidelines.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 7: “OpenEvidence also says it complies with HIPAA, the federal health privacy law, through a series of privacy protocols and protections.”

VERIFIED

The American Association of Endodontists source explicitly confirms that OpenEvidence complies with HIPAA and will sign a Business Associate Agreement.

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web search NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and will sign a Business Associate Agreement with covered entities, but it warns users not to enter protected…
https://www.aae.org/specialty/openevidence-and-the-endodonti…

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web search NEUTRAL — HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is the standard that protects patients’ sensitive health information.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paullukac_curious-what-people…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), was the result of efforts by the Clinton Administration and congressional healthcare reform proponents to reform healthcare.
https://www.cuttingedgedd.com/customer-resources/legislation…

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Claim 8: “OpenEvidence highlights that it scored 100% on the official United States Medical Licensing Examination”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “an academic study released in December found that OpenEvidence accurately answered more complex medical questions less than 45% of the time.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “The service, a sort of chatbot for doctors, was used by about 65% of U.S. doctors across almost 27 million clinical encounters in April alone, the company told NBC News.”

DISPUTED

The claim states 65% of U.S. doctors use the service. However, the provided evidence from 'OpenEvidence Raises $210M...' explicitly states it is used by 'over 40% of physicians in the United States who log in daily'. These figures contradict each other.

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web search NEUTRAL — Open Evidence uses AI-powered tools to deliver real-time, evidence-based insights for health policy, clinical guidelines, and public health decision-making.A healthcare professional uses OpenEvidence …
https://www.aimedapps.com/tools/openevidence

info

Claim 11: “MaineHealth currently asks its doctors to refrain from entering PHI into OpenEvidence.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided discusses OpenEvidence generally and its HIPAA compliance, but there is no mention of MaineHealth specifically or their internal instructions to doctors.

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web search NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence is a secure medical information platform for U.S. healthcare professionals, facilitating question logging, managing protected health informa..Use Cases. Who's it for. More Info. Discussio…
https://topai.tools/t/openevidence-ai

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Claim 12: “The company has inked partnerships and licensing agreements with the world’s most prestigious medical journals, like NEJM and the Journal of the American Medical Association.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 13: “Valued at $1 billion in early 2025, OpenEvidence has surged to a valuation of $12 billion in just over a year.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results regarding the specific valuation growth from $1 billion in early 2025 to $12 billion.

verified

Claim 14: “Practitioners must sign up for an account and provide their unique healthcare ID number supplied by the U.S. government.”

VERIFIED

The Google Play Store listing for OpenEvidence explicitly states '(NPI REQUIRED)', and the NPI (National Provider Identifier) is the unique healthcare ID number supplied by the U.S. government.

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web search NEUTRAL — A healthcare professional uses OpenEvidence to construct a patient workup with the latest clinical findings. A medical educator writes an exam question based on recent research findings available on O…
https://www.aimedapps.com/tools/openevidence

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web search NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence provides accurate answers at the point of care (NPI REQUIRED).OpenEvidence has been an incredible lifeline for daily practitioners.” - C.J., Oncologist. “OpenEvidence is absolutely fantas…
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.openeviden…

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Claim 15: “The service is currently funded by ads — some from pharmaceutical and medical device companies — on its app and website”

CORROBORATED

Two independent sources ('Glass Health vs OpenEvidence' and 'How OpenEvidence Is Transforming...') confirm that the company monetizes through advertisements from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.

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web search NEUTRAL — OpenEvidence monetizes through ads from pharmaceutical and medical device companies at premium CPMs ($70-$150+). The company states that advertising does not influence clinical answers, but the ad-sup…
https://glass.health/compare/openevidence

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web search NEUTRAL — The core revenue stream derives from pharmaceutical and medical device advertising. Rather than charging physicians or healthcare systems for access, OpenEvidence monetizes through advertisements from…
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-openevidence-transforming…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.