Best AI Prompts for Doctors

AI summary

Seven AI prompts for physicians that scaffold the writing and communication work without crossing into clinical decision-making: patient letters, note translation, differential brainstorming, after-visit summaries, insurance appeals, pre-visit triage, and difficult conversation prep. Every output is reviewed by the physician before patient contact. AI never provides medical advice; the physician makes every clinical call.

Prompt 1

Patient Letter Drafter

Most physician letters to patients are written tired, between visits. This prompt drafts the letter so you spend your time on the medical judgment, not the words.

I need to write a letter to a patient.

PATIENT CONTEXT (de-identified): [AGE RANGE, RELEVANT MEDICAL HISTORY]
THE PURPOSE OF THE LETTER: [TEST RESULTS / FOLLOW-UP / TREATMENT PLAN / DENIAL OF REQUESTED TREATMENT / etc.]
THE MEDICAL CONTENT I NEED TO COMMUNICATE: [PASTE OR DESCRIBE]
THE PATIENT'S LITERACY LEVEL (best guess from prior visits): [GENERAL READER / HEALTHCARE-FAMILIAR / NEEDS PLAIN ENGLISH]
THE ACTION I AM ASKING THE PATIENT TO TAKE: [SPECIFIC]

Draft a letter with:

1. OPENING: warm, specific to them, not generic.
2. THE MEDICAL FACTS: stated clearly in language matched to the patient's literacy level, without jargon or with jargon explained.
3. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THEM: practical implications stated directly.
4. WHAT I AM ASKING THEM TO DO: with the specific action, timeframe, and who to contact.
5. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: warning signs that would change the urgency.
6. THE INVITATION TO ASK QUESTIONS, with how to reach me or the clinic.
7. CLOSE: warm, professional.

IMPORTANT: I will review every letter before sending. Do not invent diagnoses, dosages, or test results not in my input. Do not give medical advice you have not been instructed to give. Flag any term you used that might be misinterpreted by the patient.

When to use: Same day as the test result or decision, ideally. · Best model: Claude (most disciplined about not fabricating clinical details).

Prompt 2

Note-to-Plain-Language Translator

Patients have a right to understand their own records. This prompt translates clinical notes into language they can actually act on.

Here is a clinical note from a recent visit (de-identified):

[PASTE NOTE]

The patient who is asking: [BRIEF CONTEXT ABOUT THEIR LITERACY LEVEL AND WHAT THEY ARE CONCERNED ABOUT]

Translate into plain language:

1. WHAT WE FOUND: the findings, restated in plain English appropriate to the patient.
2. WHAT IT MIGHT MEAN: the implications, calibrated to actual clinical significance (do not over-state mild findings).
3. WHAT WE ARE DOING ABOUT IT: the plan, in the order it will happen.
4. WHAT THEY SHOULD DO: their part in the plan.
5. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: warning signs that would change urgency.
6. THE QUESTIONS THEY ARE PROBABLY ABOUT TO ASK that the note does not yet answer.
7. FLAGGED TERMS: any clinical term in the note that, if I send this as-is, would confuse or frighten the patient. Suggest a replacement or note where I should add a brief explanation.

Do not invent findings not in the note. If the note contains uncertainty ("likely," "cannot rule out," "consistent with"), preserve that uncertainty in the translation; do not state probable findings as definitive.

When to use: When a patient requests a translation of their record or before sharing the after-visit summary. · Best model: Claude. Discipline about preserving clinical uncertainty matters here.

Prompt 3

Differential Diagnosis Brainstorm

Used as a check on YOUR thinking, not a replacement for it. This prompt produces a differential to compare against your own working list, surface the diagnosis you might have anchored away from.

Here is the clinical picture (de-identified):

PRESENTING SYMPTOMS:

[LIST]

RELEVANT HISTORY:

[LIST: meds, comorbidities, recent events]

EXAM FINDINGS:

[KEY POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES]

THE WORKING DIAGNOSIS I AM CONSIDERING: [YOUR LEAD HYPOTHESIS]

Produce a differential brainstorm:

1. MY WORKING DIAGNOSIS RESTATED: what fits, what does not fit.
2. THE TOP 5 OTHER POSSIBILITIES, in approximate likelihood order, with the specific feature that would distinguish each.
3. THE CAN'T-MISS: the diagnoses that are unlikely but life-threatening if missed.
4. THE ANCHORING RISK: based on the history, am I anchoring on a familiar pattern that fits less well than I think.
5. THE NEXT-STEP DIAGNOSTICS: 2-3 tests or examinations that would meaningfully discriminate between the top candidates.
6. WHAT I SHOULD ASK THE PATIENT that I have not yet asked.

This is a brainstorm, not a recommendation. I will make the clinical call. Do not provide treatment plans. Be specific; avoid vague "consider..." lists with no clinical reasoning.

When to use: Any case where you want a structured second look at your differential. · Best model: Claude. Discipline about “not a recommendation” matters legally and clinically.

Prompt 4

After-Visit Summary Drafter

Most after-visit summaries are templated and forgotten by the patient before they reach the parking lot. This prompt drafts one they will actually use.

Here is the visit (de-identified):

REASON FOR VISIT: [WHY THE PATIENT CAME IN]
WHAT WE DISCUSSED OR EXAMINED: [BRIEF]
DIAGNOSIS OR ASSESSMENT (PROVISIONAL OK): [BRIEF]
PLAN: [TESTS, MEDICATIONS, REFERRALS, LIFESTYLE, FOLLOW-UP]
WHAT THE PATIENT EXPRESSED CONCERN ABOUT: [THEIR WORRY IN THEIR WORDS]

Draft a one-page after-visit summary:

1. WHAT WE DID TODAY: 2 sentences naming the visit's purpose and outcome.
2. WHAT WE FOUND OR THINK: the assessment, stated plainly and at appropriate certainty level.
3. WHAT TO DO NEXT: numbered list of actions, in order of timing, with the specific deadline for each ("call by next Friday," not "soon").
4. WHAT TO WATCH FOR: warning signs that would change urgency, with the specific phone number to call.
5. YOUR QUESTION: address the specific concern the patient raised, even if briefly.
6. WHEN WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN: with how to reach the clinic if needed sooner.

Keep under 350 words. Use plain English. Do not invent findings. Do not promise outcomes. Do not list medications or dosages unless explicitly provided in my input.

When to use: Immediately after the visit, while the conversation is fresh. · Best model: Claude. Tone calibration matters; do not over-cheerful and do not over-clinical.

Prompt 5

Insurance Appeal Letter Drafter

An insurance company has denied a treatment you believe is medically necessary. This prompt drafts the appeal letter so you can edit instead of staring at a blank page.

I am writing an appeal for:

PATIENT (de-identified): [AGE, RELEVANT CONTEXT]
INSURANCE COMPANY: [NAME]
TREATMENT DENIED: [SPECIFIC TREATMENT, DEVICE, MEDICATION, OR PROCEDURE]
REASON GIVEN FOR DENIAL (paste their letter or summarize): [REASON]
CLINICAL JUSTIFICATION (why this treatment is appropriate for this patient): [PASTE OR SUMMARIZE]
RELEVANT GUIDELINES OR EVIDENCE that support the treatment: [CATEGORIES OF EVIDENCE, NOT SPECIFIC CITATIONS]
WHAT HAS BEEN TRIED OR CONSIDERED FIRST: [PRIOR TREATMENTS OR REASONS THEY ARE NOT APPROPRIATE]

Draft an appeal letter with:

1. OPENING: brief, professional, naming the patient ID and the denial reference.
2. THE CLINICAL PICTURE: the patient's relevant medical situation in factual terms.
3. WHY THIS TREATMENT: the specific clinical reasoning, anchored to the denial reason if possible.
4. WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS: the category of evidence supporting the treatment (I will add specific citations).
5. WHAT IS NOT APPROPRIATE INSTEAD: the alternatives the insurance company implied, and why they are not appropriate for this patient.
6. THE REQUEST: specific approval of the treatment, with timeframe.
7. CLOSE: contact information, willingness to provide additional documentation.

Do not cite specific journals, study names, or guideline numbers. I will add citations during my review. Do not invent patient details.

When to use: Within 2 weeks of receiving the denial. · Best model: Claude. Tone discipline matters; appeals are legal documents.

Prompt 6

Pre-Visit Patient Triage

Your schedule has a new patient at 2pm. Their intake form is long. This prompt triages it so you walk in already knowing the picture.

Here is the new patient intake form (de-identified):

[PASTE INTAKE]

Reason for visit: [WHAT THEY WROTE]
Prior records I have access to: [BRIEF, OR NONE]

Produce a pre-visit brief:

1. THE PROBABLE PRESENTING ISSUE in one sentence, based on the intake.
2. THE PRIOR HISTORY THAT MATTERS for this visit, surfaced from the intake form.
3. THE MEDICATIONS WORTH NOTING: anything that interacts, contraindicates, or shapes the workup.
4. THE RED FLAGS: any symptom or sign that requires immediate evaluation or referral.
5. THE QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING that the intake form did not capture.
6. THE PROBABLE WORKUP, in approximate order.
7. THE ONE PIECE OF CONTEXT to keep in mind about the patient as a person (something from the intake that suggests how to communicate with them).

Do not skip a red flag because the intake form did not bold it. Do not suggest treatment; this is a triage brief.

When to use: 15 minutes before the visit. · Best model: Claude. Discipline about not skipping red flags matters.

Prompt 7

Difficult Conversation Prep

You have to deliver a difficult diagnosis or news. The first conversation shapes everything that follows. This prompt prepares the framing so you do not improvise the hardest moments.

I have to deliver a difficult conversation:

PATIENT (de-identified, with the context that affects communication): [BRIEF]
WHAT THE DIFFICULT NEWS IS: [SPECIFIC]
WHAT THEY ALREADY SUSPECT OR KNOW: [BRIEF]
WHAT MATTERS MOST TO THEM (from prior visits): [LIFE CONTEXT]
WHAT MY MAIN CLINICAL CONCERNS ARE for them right now: [SPECIFIC]

Draft a conversation framework with:

1. THE OPENING: how to set up the conversation in 2-3 sentences so they are not blindsided.
2. DELIVERING THE NEWS: the specific words I should use, calibrated to their literacy and emotional state. Avoid both excessive hedging and excessive bluntness.
3. THE PAUSE: where I should stop talking and let them respond.
4. THE FIRST QUESTION I should ask after they have absorbed the news.
5. ADDRESSING WHAT THEY CARE ABOUT MOST: 2-3 sentences that connect the news to their life context.
6. THE PLAN: how to introduce what comes next without overwhelming.
7. THE CLOSE: how to end the visit so they leave with something concrete (a follow-up appointment, a written summary, a number to call) and a sense of partnership.

Do not soften the news to the point of misinformation. Do not over-clinical the language. Tone: warm, direct, calibrated to the patient.

When to use: Day before the conversation. Re-read the morning of. · Best model: Claude. Tone discipline is the entire value.

Connectors are now standard

Claude, ChatGPT, and Grok all support connectors that let your AI read live data from your work tools (Gmail, Notion, GitHub, Asana, HubSpot, Stripe, and many more) instead of relying on you to paste context. For physicians this means the AI can read appropriate non-PHI workflow tools (your calendar, your appointment system, your appeals tracker) while staying out of direct EHR access where institutional policy and HIPAA preclude it.

For doctors, the connectors worth pairing with these prompts:

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