Your visit summary says "benign," "bilateral," or "mild degenerative changes," and you nodded along in the office. AI can explain medical words in plain English so you know what to ask at your next visit.
When this helps
Use this after a visit, when you read a summary in your patient portal, or when a family member describes a diagnosis you have never heard of.
Step by step
- Copy the word or the sentence from your visit summary. Leave out your name and birth date.
- Paste it into your AI app with the words below.
- Ask follow-up questions until the explanation makes sense to you.
- Write down anything you want to ask your doctor about.
Copy these words
“My visit summary says: [paste the sentence]. Explain what this means in plain English, as if you were talking to a friend. Then tell me what questions I could ask my doctor about it.”
Fill in anything in [brackets] with your own details, then send.
Good follow-up questions
- "Is this something common?"
- "Explain it again in simpler words."
- "What does each part of the word mean?"
Before you trust the answer
AI explains general meanings. It does not know your full medical history, and it can be wrong. Your doctor's office is the right place for questions about what a result means for you. Many offices answer questions through the patient portal message feature.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI read my test results?
AI can explain the general meaning of terms on a result, but only your doctor can tell you what your results mean for you. Ask your doctor's office about any result that worries you.
Is this better than searching online?
AI lets you ask follow-up questions in plain words, which a search page does not. Treat both as a starting point, not a final answer.
Should I tell AI my diagnosis?
Share only the words you want explained. You do not need to give your name or other personal details.
Get 5 more tasks like this, free
The free guide 5 Everyday Things AI Can Help You With gives you one task per page in large print, with the exact words to copy and a list of what to never give AI.
About the author: Nelson Lopatin
Nelson has worked on the internet since 1995 and runs US WebSites in the Rochester, NY area. He writes Easy AI for Seniors in plain English so adults 55 and older learn AI at their own pace.