Artificial Intelligence to Fill in Healthcare Worker Shortage
- Illuminate Edu
- Dec 17, 2025
- 3 min read
By Saanvi Gaddam
Edited by Isabella Phillips
Published 12/17/2025
America is running out of doctors, but what if the solution is already at our fingertips? Artificial intelligence (AI) is a device often vilified, yet used by millions every minute. AI already untangles so many everyday problems: the math question that you can’t seem to crack, the essay we've all been procrastinating on, the banana bread recipe that you suddenly crave. But what if it can solve something much bigger—the dire shortage of healthcare workers? Or at the very least, lighten the burden?
The United States' healthcare system is struggling. In 2023, the Association of American Medical Colleges predicted that by 2036, the United States could face a physician shortage ranging from 13,500 to 86,000 people, with over a third of the current doctors expected to retire within the decade. The impact would be indescribable. The best way to protect our fragile healthcare system from breaking is to explore the tools that can support and strengthen the workforce we still have.
One way AI can help address the physician shortage is by supporting therapists. Presently, fewer than a third of Americans live in an area with enough mental health providers to meet the local demand, and with disorders like anxiety and depression becoming increasingly prevalent, the gap is only expected to widen. Artificial intelligence offers a promising method to ease this strain. Researchers at Dartmouth College have found that AI models are learning what makes an effective therapist. In fact, one model, “Therabot,” saw a 51% reduction in depression symptoms among users. The implications are tremendous. Unlike human therapists, AI can offer support to people at all hours of the day, not just during weekly sessions. In Dartmouth’s clinical trials, participants even messaged the chatbot in the middle of the night to talk through steps to combat insomnia. Moreover, researchers have also implemented safeguards to prevent unsafe interactions with the chatbots. If the AI detects signs of suicidal ideation or self-harm, it promptly directs the individual to a higher level of care and connects them to the National Suicide Hotline. Although its uses in therapy are promising, researchers emphasize that the tool is intended to augment care, not completely replace human therapists. Artificial intelligence should be used as a tool that enhances traditional treatment methods, not as an alternative to trained professionals.
Similarly, AI-guided ultrasounds for non-specialists are becoming a crucial resource for rural communities. More than half of rural counties lack adequate access to ultrasound care, a problem primarily driven by the drought of trained specialists in these neighborhoods. Artificial intelligence helps alleviate these pressures by guiding non-specialist clinicians through the imaging process and assisting them in meeting diagnostic standards. A study published in JAMA Cardiol, an international peer-reviewed journal, executed this technique in lung ultrasounds and found that non-experts were able to meet diagnostic standards 98.3% of the time. Remarkably, researchers reported that the AI-guided images were indistinguishable from those produced by specialists without the aid of AI. The technology can be used to expand who is able to perform ultrasounds while freeing up experts to attend to more urgent cases, mitigating the effects of the lack of physicians.
Overall, artificial intelligence should be utilized as a tool that can ease the incredible pressure on America’s doctors. Fears of artificial intelligence replacing doctors are understandable, but in its current form, AI is not a threat to the human workforce, as it cannot multitask. Artificial intelligence shouldn’t be viewed as a replacement for human providers, but as an instrument that enhances their capabilities. It cannot replicate our empathy, judgment, or passion. Instead of fearing what AI might eventually become, attention should be directed towards maximizing its potential to assist in the current physician shortage.
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