Maybe the fact that you know your diagnosis is not the important part. If the app can verify the diagnostic data is accurate (e.g., temperature, AI image recognition of visible indicators like rashes and pupil dilation, audio analysis of heartbeat and breathing) then it can save the provider time taking these metrics in the office. Case notes are full of "subjective temp" vs "objective temp," meaning, "what the patient reported" and "what I measured on the visit." Successfully removing this distinction would be difficult, but would save provider time and paperwork. All this info could be sent directly to the doctor for diagnosis. (Possibly with AI giving a suggestion?)

Seeing a doctor can be expensive and inconvenient (another form of expensive).

I can understand inconvenient, but expensive?

Even in the US where you actually have to pay for medical stuff, it can't be more than $10 or so for a quick consultation?

Not everyone has that kind of insurance.

You also have no idea of the cost of various diagnostic actions they might take. I once had blood drawn and got charged $600 for it because the lab they chose was out of network. I didn't even know there was a cost, let alone which labs to request.

$150 to have a nurse put a popsicle stick on my tongue and tell me that my throat infection would probably go away on its own.

> $150 to have a nurse put a popsicle stick on my tongue and tell me that my throat infection would probably go away on its own.

Or you could see it this way :

$150 to have a nurse put a popsicle stick on your tongue and tell you that you are very lucky to have presented today because you have a suspicious growth - which on examination turns out to be a rare form of cancer that is easily cured if detected early, but most certainly fatal otherwise

Depends on whether you count opportunity costs under 'inconvenient' or 'expensive', I guess. If you have to take time off work to travel to a doctor, wait for an appointment, etc, that's all costs.

>it can't be more than $10 or so for a quick consultation

It's times like this I realize just how different the rest of the world is.

Dunno about the US, but in Ireland it is EUR60 for a 10-minute GP visit.