Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultation

Introduction. ChatGPT has shown promise in medical consultation. This paper presents the preliminary findings of evaluating the capability of ChatGPT in responding to real-world patient questions from a patient point of view, using physician responses as a benchmark. Method. 24 patient questions a...

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Main Authors: Siqi Luo, Hongyi Qin, Hanlin Li, Cui Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Borås 2024-06-01
Series:Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/837
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author Siqi Luo
Hongyi Qin
Hanlin Li
Cui Huang
author_facet Siqi Luo
Hongyi Qin
Hanlin Li
Cui Huang
author_sort Siqi Luo
collection DOAJ
description Introduction. ChatGPT has shown promise in medical consultation. This paper presents the preliminary findings of evaluating the capability of ChatGPT in responding to real-world patient questions from a patient point of view, using physician responses as a benchmark. Method. 24 patient questions and physician responses were collected from a Chinese professional medical consultation platform. The corresponding ChatGPT responses were also collected. Five evaluators without medical background were given the patient questions and responses from both sources in random order. Evaluations were made in terms of the quality and presented empathy of collected responses. Analysis. Evaluation scores were analysed using descriptive statistical method. Results. Preliminary findings demonstrated that ChatGPT could be considered as a dependable source for acquiring useful health information. However, it was not able to present the feeling of empathy to patients compared with human physicians. Conclusion. We recommend that physicians consider utilizing ChatGPT as a supplementary information source when addressing general medical consultations to improve the experience of seeking medical information for patients.
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spelling doaj-art-b9759743b4244ff18ff8b24f1b08933d2025-02-03T10:10:34ZengUniversity of BoråsInformation Research: An International Electronic Journal1368-16132024-06-0129241942610.47989/ir292837834Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultationSiqi Luo0Hongyi Qin1Hanlin Li2Cui Huang3Zhejiang UniversityZhejiang UniversityZhejiang UniversityZhejiang UniversityIntroduction. ChatGPT has shown promise in medical consultation. This paper presents the preliminary findings of evaluating the capability of ChatGPT in responding to real-world patient questions from a patient point of view, using physician responses as a benchmark. Method. 24 patient questions and physician responses were collected from a Chinese professional medical consultation platform. The corresponding ChatGPT responses were also collected. Five evaluators without medical background were given the patient questions and responses from both sources in random order. Evaluations were made in terms of the quality and presented empathy of collected responses. Analysis. Evaluation scores were analysed using descriptive statistical method. Results. Preliminary findings demonstrated that ChatGPT could be considered as a dependable source for acquiring useful health information. However, it was not able to present the feeling of empathy to patients compared with human physicians. Conclusion. We recommend that physicians consider utilizing ChatGPT as a supplementary information source when addressing general medical consultations to improve the experience of seeking medical information for patients.https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/837chatgpthealth informationmedical consultation
spellingShingle Siqi Luo
Hongyi Qin
Hanlin Li
Cui Huang
Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultation
Information Research: An International Electronic Journal
chatgpt
health information
medical consultation
title Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultation
title_full Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultation
title_fullStr Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultation
title_full_unstemmed Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultation
title_short Can ChatGPT provide health information as physicians do? Preliminary findings from a cross-sectional study of online medical consultation
title_sort can chatgpt provide health information as physicians do preliminary findings from a cross sectional study of online medical consultation
topic chatgpt
health information
medical consultation
url https://informationr.net/infres/article/view/837
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