Artificial intelligence, health empowerment, and the general practitioner scheme

The general practitioner (GP) scheme in Norway has long been under pressure, and in recent years, several media outlets have referred to the situation as a "GP crisis." Over the past year, however, this trend has begun to shift. Bolstered by increased baseline funding, the number of Norwegians without a designated GP has been nearly halved. Predicating this improvement is the fact that GP patient lists are gradually becoming shorter. For the first time, the average GP list now includes fewer than 1000 individuals. To maintain this positive development, either more physicians must choose to become GPs-which would likely come at significant cost to municipalities and the state-or solutions must be implemented that allow for sustainable patient list sizes while mitigating the chronic overload that many GPs have faced. At the same time, artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models may offer promising capabilities in this setting. In this commentary, we explore how AI, wearable devices, everyday technologies, social chatbots, and "health companions" could help alleviate the burden on the GP scheme, empower individuals in managing their own health, and reduce overall societal healthcare costs.