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Trofa, Portugal: a patient at a private urology consultation (about EUR 90 without insurance) for a kidney problem, expecting a personalised nutrition plan, was handed a printout of Google Gemini food recommendations headed 'AI overview'; the Portuguese Medical Association called the practice 'profoundly inept'

According to Correio da Manhã, during a urology consultation at the Trofa Saúde Hospital da Trofa on 2 June 2026, a patient being followed for a kidney problem expected a personalised nutrition plan but received a printed sheet of food recommendations headed 'vista geral de IA' ('AI overview'), generated by Google's Gemini. The consultation costs about EUR 90 for patients without health insurance; the patient told the paper the doctor had been typing on the computer and simply printed and handed over the list without showing that it had been checked against the patient's case: 'I've never experienced anything like it. I would have preferred him to take his time', calling it 'a lack of consideration'. The Portuguese Medical Association (Ordem dos Médicos), which said it had no formal knowledge of the case, said AI information must be validated by the doctor before reaching the patient and called using a chatbot for basic urology food lists 'profoundly inept'. Trofa Saúde did not respond to the paper over three weeks.

AI system
Gemini (reported)
Google
Occurred
2 Jun 2026
Reported
15 July 2026
Event location
Portugal
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Psychological Distress
Whose AI use
An institution’s AI use
Setting
Health
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account
3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Google Gemini ('AI overview' output), used by a hospital urologist to produce dietary recommendations that were printed and handed to the patient

What Happened

Correio da Manhã reports that the case occurred on 2 June (the report, published 15 July 2026, gives the day and month) during a urology consultation. Instead of a personalised nutrition plan for a kidney problem, the patient received a printed sheet carrying the label 'vista geral de IA' in its header; the paper and relays identify the output as Google's Gemini. The patient said: 'The doctor was typing on the computer and I was not expecting to receive a Google printout', and that the doctor handed over the list as if the procedure were routine, without showing he had analysed the specifics of the patient's case. The consultation cost about EUR 90 for patients without health insurance at the group's units. The president of the Ordem dos Médicos, Carlos Cortes, said: 'Artificial intelligence is a support, not a substitute. All information obtained via AI must be validated by the doctor before it reaches the patient', distinguished certified clinical tools from general chatbots, and called the use of AI for basic urology questions such as food lists 'profoundly inept', saying it undermines patient trust. The sources do not report the content of the recommendations, whether any of it was wrong for the patient's condition, or any effect on the patient's health.

Reported harm

The patient says a private consultation (about EUR 90 without insurance) ended with a printed Google Gemini food list instead of a personalised nutrition plan, handed over without any sign it had been checked against the patient's case, and called it 'a lack of consideration' (patient's account to Correio da Manhã; no health effect is reported).

Outcome

Unknown

Reported by Correio da Manhã on 15 July 2026 and relayed by O Notícias da Trofa, Postal, SOL and Pplware. The Ordem dos Médicos said it had no formal knowledge of the specific case, restated that responsibility for the medical act rests with the doctor, and said the matter would be more serious, potentially warranting disciplinary investigation, if AI output were used to support diagnoses or treatment decisions. Trofa Saúde did not answer the paper's questions about its AI criteria, the doctor's identity or supervision. No complaint, investigation or disciplinary step specific to this case is reported.

What remains unknown

  • The content of the printed recommendations and whether any of it was inappropriate for the patient's condition.
  • The doctor's identity and whether the hospital or the Ordem dos Médicos took any action.
  • Whether the patient was insured and what the patient actually paid.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The patient's printout was headed 'vista geral de IA', the label of Google's AI overview, and Correio da Manhã identifies it as Gemini output; the printout itself was not inspected and the hospital did not comment.

3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported During a urology consultation on 2 June 2026 at the Trofa Saúde Hospital da Trofa, a patient with a kidney problem who expected a personalised nutrition plan received a printed sheet of food recommendations headed 'AI overview', generated by Google's Gemini.

Causal attribution. Patient's account to Correio da Manhã; relays repeat it.

  • cmjornal.pt(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Uma consulta no Trofa Saúde Hospital da Trofa terminou com um médico a entregar a uma paciente uma recomendação impressa diretamente do Gemini'; 'o caso ocorreu a 2 de junho durante uma consulta de urologia. Em vez de um plano nutricional personalizado para um problema renal, o paciente recebeu uma folha impressa que trazia, no cabeçalho, a etiqueta de "vista geral de IA".'
  • onoticiasdatrofa.pt(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'o paciente procurou uma consulta de urologia para acompanhamento de um problema renal e esperava receber um plano nutricional personalizado. Em vez disso, afirma ter recebido uma folha impressa com recomendações alimentares, identificada no topo como uma "vista geral de IA", gerada pelo Gemini.'
Reported The patient said the doctor simply printed and handed over the list without showing it had been checked against the patient's case, and called it a lack of consideration; the consultation costs about EUR 90 without insurance.

Causal attribution. Patient's account; CM frames the EUR 90 as the price for patients without health insurance, and whether this patient was insured is not stated.

  • cmjornal.pt(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Para quem paga cerca de 90 euros pela consulta numa das unidades do grupo de saúde privado, se não tiver seguro de saúde, a experiência deixou um gosto amargo.'; '"Nunca experienciei uma coisa assim. Eu preferia que ele demorasse o seu tempo", confessou o paciente, questionado pelo CM, considerando "uma falta de consideração" por parte do profissional de saúde.'; '"O médico estava a escrever no computador e eu não estava à espera de receber um print do Google", relatou.'
  • onoticiasdatrofa.pt(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'O doente, que pagou cerca de 90 euros pela consulta, descreveu a experiência como inédita e dececionante.'; 'Segundo o seu relato, o médico limitou-se a imprimir e entregar a informação produzida pelo chatbot, sem explicar se tinha revisto ou adaptado o conteúdo ao seu quadro clínico.'
  • postal.pt(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Uma paciente que pagou cerca de 90 euros por uma consulta de urologia numa unidade do grupo Trofa Saúde recebeu, no final, um documento alegadamente gerado por Inteligência Artificial'
Reported The Ordem dos Médicos, which said it had no formal knowledge of the case, said AI information must be validated by the doctor before reaching the patient and called using a chatbot for basic urology food lists 'profoundly inept'; Trofa Saúde did not answer the paper's questions.

Causal attribution. Professional body's general statement in response to the paper; it did not examine the case.

  • cmjornal.pt(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    '"A inteligência artificial é um apoio, não um substituto. Toda a informação obtida via IA tem de ser obrigatoriamente validada pelo médico antes de chegar ao paciente. O médico tem a responsabilidade total e intransmissível sobre o ato"'; 'Apesar das sucessivas tentativas de contacto ao longo das últimas três semanas, o grupo não prestou quaisquer esclarecimentos.'
  • onoticiasdatrofa.pt(opens in new tab) supports · Portuguese
    'Contactada pelo Correio da Manhã, a Ordem dos Médicos afirma não ter conhecimento formal do caso concreto'; 'Para Carlos Cortes, recorrer a um chatbot para produzir recomendações básicas de alimentação em contexto de urologia representa uma atuação "profundamente inábil"'

Sources

3 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Original report; full Portuguese body read by curl on 2026-09-29. Researcher's English rendering; no human translation. Applies to s1.

Local paper's rewrite of the Correio da Manhã report (16 July 2026), read by curl on 2026-09-29; it credits CM and adds no independent reporting. Applies to s2.

Postal rewrite of the CM report (16 July 2026), read by curl on 2026-09-29; it refers to the patient in the feminine, while CM mostly uses the masculine, so the record does not state gender. Applies to s3.

Event countries: Portugal. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.

The consultation took place at the Trofa Saúde Hospital da Trofa in Trofa, Portugal (Correio da Manhã). The patient's country of residence is not stated.

Reviewed for publication 2026-09-29: Published as a concrete adverse experience in which AI output, relayed unvalidated by a hospital doctor, replaced personalised advice in a paid consultation. It rests on the patient's account in one Correio da Manhã report and its relays; no health harm is reported, and neither the patient nor the doctor is named.

People described

A patient (not named; the reports differ on gender) attending a paid private urology consultation for a kidney problem

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed

One patient, who received the Gemini printout and described the consultation to Correio da Manhã. The patient is counted as a participant because the AI-generated text itself was handed to them as the doctor's recommendation. Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#gemini#google#ai-overview#healthcare#urology#private-hospital#portugal#ordem-dos-medicos#portuguese-language

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Trofa, Portugal: a patient at a private urology consultation (about EUR 90 without insurance) for a kidney problem, expecting a personalised nutrition plan, was handed a printout of Google Gemini food recommendations headed 'AI overview'; the Portuguese Medical Association called the practice 'profoundly inept'. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-trofa-portugal-urologist-handed-patient-unvalidated-gemini-diet-printout

BibTeX

@misc{2026_trofa_portugal_urologist_handed_patient_unvalidated_gemini_diet_printout,
  title = {Trofa, Portugal: a patient at a private urology consultation (about EUR 90 without insurance) for a kidney problem, expecting a personalised nutrition plan, was handed a printout of Google Gemini food recommendations headed 'AI overview'; the Portuguese Medical Association called the practice 'profoundly inept'},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-trofa-portugal-urologist-handed-patient-unvalidated-gemini-diet-printout}
}

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