ChatGPT beats physician responses to patient questions: study
A recent study has found that the AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, offers higher-quality and more empathetic responses to patient queries than real healthcare professionals. A panel of licensed healthcare professionals compared nearly 200 "doctor-patient" exchanges, and preferred ChatGPT's responses 79% of the time. The chatbot's responses were four times more likely to be ranked as good or very good quality, and ten times more likely to be empathetic or very empathetic.
While the research team acknowledged that AI can help reduce physician burnout by addressing the unending stream of patient queries, they emphasised that AI-powered responses cannot replace real doctors. It is important to consider the limitations of an AI-powered response and the need for real-life experiences and individual attention that can only be provided by a medical professional.
However, the study highlighted the benefits of using AI to improve patient care and streamline the work of medical professionals. With the pandemic-driven surge in virtual and zoom care, doctors are struggling to manage overflowing inboxes. Implementing AI solutions such as ChatGPT could help improve the workflow for healthcare providers and ensure that patient queries are addressed more efficiently and effectively.
Arthur Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at the University of New York, challenges the notion that a robot is more empathetic than a real doctor. It is also unclear who is responsible if an AI-powered response leads to a misdiagnosis or other negative outcomes. However, the benefits of implementing AI solutions in healthcare are becoming increasingly clear, and the potential for AI-powered chatbots to improve the quality of patient care is undeniable.
