Asked to choose, 63.1% of US adults in a JAMA Network Open survey would wait up to 48 hours for a doctor or nurse to review an AI-drafted medical answer rather than take the AI's reply in five minutes.
The short answer: for medical questions, most people want a clinician to check what the AI says, even if it takes up to two days. For routine logistics, like scheduling or prescription refill messages, a majority would take the fast AI reply. People want speed where the stakes are low and a person where the stakes are clinical. Ask any online service which side of that line a decision falls on.
What the survey asked
Researchers from Columbia University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center published the findings as a research letter in JAMA Network Open on October 14, 2026. They surveyed 1,185 US adults through Qualtrics online panels between June 17 and July 26, 2024.
Participants imagined sending a message through a patient portal and picked one of two options:
- "a fast answer from the AI (within 5 minutes)"
- "waiting until a health professional (doctor or nurse) reviews and edits the AI’s answer (up to 48 hours)"
The slower option was not a human answer instead of AI. It was the AI's answer, checked and edited by a clinician.
What people chose
- Medical messages (symptoms, treatment questions, clinical concerns): 748 people, or 63.1%, chose to wait for the reviewed answer.
- Logistical messages (appointment scheduling, prescription refills): 680 people, or 57.4%, chose the fast AI answer.
- General messages (nonmedical questions, administrative requests): 600 people, or 50.6%, chose the fast AI answer. Close to a coin flip.
Preferences were not uniform. In the paper's analysis, Black or African American participants, participants with higher health literacy, and those reporting more discrimination in medical settings were more likely to accept AI for medical questions. Women were less likely.
What the survey does and does not show
- Refills were filed under logistics, not clinical care. This matters. A refill message to your own doctor's office, like "please send my usual prescription to a different pharmacy," is mostly paperwork. Deciding whether someone should keep taking a medication is a clinical judgment. The survey did not separate the two, so it does not show that people want AI to renew prescriptions on its own, and it does not show that they want a clinician on every refill message either.
- It measures stated preferences, not outcomes. Nobody received an answer. The scenarios were hypothetical, and the study did not test whether reviewed answers were safer or more accurate.
- 48 hours was the question's ceiling, not a tested limit. The survey did not compare 24 hours with 48 or 72.
- It is a snapshot from mid-2024. The authors note that AI tools may have changed since the data were collected.
- Other limits the authors name: a nonprobability online sample, answer options shown in a fixed order, possible framing effects from the wording, and response time bundled with who answered.
How online services split the work today
We read how four services that renew prescriptions online describe who decides and how fast, in their own words. All pages were checked on October 18, 2026.
| Service | Who decides, in its words | Speed it states | Price it states |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctronic, Utah AI renewal program | "a human physician does not need to approve each individual renewal" | "Most renewals are completed in just a few minutes." | "$4.00 per renewal" |
| Amazon One Medical, Pay-per-visit | "Share your renewal request with Health AI and get a prescription from a provider if appropriate." | Not stated on the page | "From $29.00" |
| Dr. B | Care "delivered through AI"; "Licensed medical providers review consultations online seven days a week from 8AM to 8PM ET." | "within three business hours" | "Most of our online consultations cost just $19." |
| Temi | "A licensed physician reviews each request individually and personally" | "within 48 hours, often sooner" | "$15 per refill • $0 for Temi Care members" |
Doctronic's program sits closest to the survey's fast option, applied to renewals. It runs only in Utah, under the state's AI regulatory sandbox, for a formulary of "approximately 190 commonly prescribed maintenance medications," and its program page says the AI "automatically escalates to a physician whenever there’s clinical uncertainty or a safety concern." Amazon One Medical and Dr. B put AI at the front and a provider on the decision. Temi sits at the survey's slower option: a person decides each request.
What to ask any online service
- Who makes the decision? A named type of clinician, or software? If software, under what rules, and when does a person see it?
- What does "fast" measure? A reply in minutes is not the same as a prescription at your pharmacy.
- Is your request logistics or a clinical decision? Moving a current prescription to another pharmacy is paperwork. Continuing, changing, or starting a medication is a judgment someone should own.
- What happens if the answer is no? Ask who explains the decision and what comes next.
Where Temi fits
At Temi, a licensed physician reviews every request, within 48 hours and often sooner: the same window the survey's reviewed option offered. A renewal review costs $15 per medication, shown before you pay, or $0 with Temi Care. If the physician approves, the prescription goes to the pharmacy you choose, and you pay that pharmacy for the medication. Temi serves patients located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin, and does not prescribe controlled substances. See how refills work.
Sources
- Benda NC, Suresh U, Shamnath A, et al. "Public Perceptions of Timeliness for AI Use and Human Oversight." JAMA Network Open, October 14, 2026. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2855284 (checked 2026-10-18)
- Doctronic, "Prescription refills." https://www.doctronic.ai/prescription-refill/ (checked 2026-10-18)
- Doctronic, "Utah AI Prescription Renewal Program." https://www.doctronic.ai/blog/utah-ai-prescription-refill-program/ (checked 2026-10-18)
- Amazon One Medical, "Cholesterol medication" Pay-per-visit renewal page. https://health.amazon.com/onemedical/High-cholesterol-prescription-renewal/dp/B0BVC8TVQQ (checked 2026-10-18)
- Dr. B, homepage and FAQ. https://www.drb.ai/ (checked 2026-10-18)
- Temi refill service page. https://usetemi.com/prescription/refills (checked 2026-10-18)
