115 Hospitals Use AI Nurses—But Are They Going Too Far?

AI nurses are taking over hospitals, with 115 hospitals already using AI assistants to handle patient phone calls, administrative tasks, and scheduling. Hospitals claim AI is reducing nurse burnout and improving efficiency, but many human nurses are pushing back—and for good reason.

I personally think AI can handle phone calls well, but this is where AI developers should stop. Going any further—especially into direct patient care—brings serious risks of misjudgment. More importantly, if AI makes a mistake, who takes responsibility?

Let’s dive into how hospitals are using AI nurses, the dangers of AI misjudgment, and where AI should actually be used in healthcare.

How Hospitals Are Using AI Nurses

With nursing shortages worsening, hospitals are turning to AI to:

✅ Make pre-surgery phone calls to patients.
✅ Confirm patient information before appointments.
✅ Handle administrative tasks to reduce paperwork for nurses.
✅ Provide 24/7 multilingual patient support.

💬 My Take:
I think AI can be useful for phone calls, scheduling, and paperwork. These are low-risk tasks where AI can genuinely save time. But going beyond this is dangerous—because misjudging a medical situation can have life-or-death consequences.

Why AI Nurses Could Be Dangerous

🔹 AI Can Make Deadly Mistakes

📌 AI tools might generate inaccurate or misleading advice that could impact patient care.
📌 The article mentions false alarms and situations where AI-generated recommendations conflicted with nurse expertise.

💬 My Take:
This is why AI shouldn’t go beyond basic admin tasks. One wrong decision could harm or even kill a patient. AI lacks human intuition—it doesn’t recognize subtle symptoms, facial expressions, or medical history the way a nurse does.

🔹 Who Is Responsible for AI’s Mistakes?

📌 If a human nurse makes a mistake, they are held accountable.
📌 If an AI makes a mistake, who takes responsibility? The hospital? The AI company? The doctor who followed AI’s advice?

💬 My Take:
This is one of the biggest issues with AI in healthcare. If no one is responsible for AI errors, patients lose trust in the system. Until clear accountability is established, AI should not be making medical decisions.

🔹 AI Alerts Are Often Useless

📌 Nurses report constant false alarms, sometimes flagging basic bodily functions (like bowel movements) as emergencies.
📌 Too many false alerts distract nurses from real emergencies.

💬 My Take:
If AI overloads nurses with useless alerts, they will start ignoring them—which could lead to real emergencies being missed. AI should reduce stress, not create more chaos.

Where AI Should Actually Be Used in Healthcare

Instead of trying to replace nurses, AI should be focused on areas where it already excels.

✅ Cancer Tumor Identification

🔹 AI is already being used to detect cancer tumors in medical imaging.
🔹 Research has shown AI can recognize tumors faster and more accurately than humans in some cases.

💬 My Take:
I think cancer detection is one of the best uses for AI in healthcare. AI can analyze thousands of images quickly, which helps doctors catch cancer earlier. Unlike AI nurses, this doesn’t risk patient safety—it only enhances doctor decision-making.

✅ Administrative & Scheduling Tasks

🔹 AI can handle phone calls, schedule appointments, and manage paperwork.
🔹 These tasks don’t require medical judgment, making AI a perfect fit.

💬 My Take:
Hospitals should focus AI on these non-medical tasks instead of trying to replace nurses. AI should support healthcare workers, not take over their jobs.

Final Thoughts: AI Should Stay in Its Lane

AI can be useful in healthcare, but hospitals are pushing it too far. While AI can handle phone calls, paperwork, and cancer detection, it should not be making critical medical decisions.

🚀 The Right Approach:

✅ Use AI for admin work, not patient care.
✅ Keep human nurses in control of medical decisions.
✅ Hold AI companies accountable for mistakes.
✅ Invest in AI for cancer detection, where it actually excels.

If hospitals respect AI’s limits, it could improve efficiency without risking patient safety. But if they keep pushing AI into direct care, we could see dangerous consequences.

What Do You Think?

💡 Would you trust an AI nurse for medical decisions?
💡 Should hospitals limit AI to admin work?
💡 Is AI cancer detection the best use of AI in healthcare?

Let’s discuss on X(Former Twitter)

References:

Perrone, M. (2025, March 18). As AI nurses reshape hospital care, human nurses are pushing back. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-ai-nurses-hospitals-health-care-3e41c0a2768a3b4c5e002270cc2abe23