Physician and Patient Perspectives of the Usefulness and Accuracy of Medical Intuition: A Prospective Pragmatic Trial

Background Physicians often use their intuition during the diagnostic process. Intuition can also be used by professional medical intuitives trained to obtain information about the potential underlying causes of health concerns. Objective To evaluate physician and patient perceptions of the usefulness, accuracy of, and satisfaction with medical intuition sessions and their influence on the clinical process, comparing them to virtual usual care medical visits. Methods This prospective within-participant design study was conducted between April and August 2024. Forty patients received an online usual care medical visit followed by a medical intuition session attended by their physician. Quantitative and qualitative surveys assessed physician and patient perspectives of the visits. Results Physicians’ average usefulness rating for medical intuition sessions was high overall (80.8 out of 100) and greater than usual care ( P = .001). Physicians’ accuracy ratings of the medical intuition assessments appeared very high (83.3 out of 100), and 79.5% reported that the information on the connection between a patient’s life events and their health was useful. All 6 physicians reported they would recommend using medical intuitives to colleagues and that they would likely continue to use them (60.2 out of 100). They rated the medical intuition sessions as influential to their clinical process (3.6 out of 4). Conclusions Medical intuition integration into healthcare has promising potential, especially in validating patients’ symptoms and enhancing comprehension of the emotional and spiritual contributions of disease. Future research should use more robust research designs, including randomized control, larger sample sizes, and a long-term follow-up.