Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications

Recent studies have highlighted the growing integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and Large Language Models (LLMs) in healthcare. These technologies have shown promising outcomes across various healthcare tasks, especially in widely studied languages like English and Chinese. W...

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Main Authors: Rasheed Mohammad, Omer S. Alkhnbashi, Mohammad Hammoudeh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Big Data and Cognitive Computing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2504-2289/8/11/157
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author Rasheed Mohammad
Omer S. Alkhnbashi
Mohammad Hammoudeh
author_facet Rasheed Mohammad
Omer S. Alkhnbashi
Mohammad Hammoudeh
author_sort Rasheed Mohammad
collection DOAJ
description Recent studies have highlighted the growing integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and Large Language Models (LLMs) in healthcare. These technologies have shown promising outcomes across various healthcare tasks, especially in widely studied languages like English and Chinese. While NLP methods have been extensively researched, LLM applications in healthcare represent a developing area with significant potential. However, the successful implementation of LLMs in healthcare requires careful review and guidance from human experts to ensure accuracy and reliability. Despite their emerging value, research on NLP and LLM applications for Arabic remains limited particularly when compared to other languages. This gap is largely due to challenges like the lack of suitable training datasets, the diversity of Arabic dialects, and the language’s structural complexity. In this study, a panel of medical experts evaluated responses generated by LLMs, including ChatGPT, for Arabic healthcare inquiries, rating their accuracy between 85% and 90%. After fine tuning ChatGPT with data from the Altibbi platform, accuracy improved to a range of 87% to 92%. This study demonstrates the potential of LLMs in addressing Arabic healthcare queries especially in interpreting questions across dialects. It highlights the value of LLMs in enhancing healthcare communication within the Arabic-speaking world and points to a promising area for further research. This work establishes a foundation for optimizing NLP and LLM technologies to achieve greater linguistic and cultural adaptability in global healthcare settings.
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spelling doaj-art-e1386ebdee014d0c88cc6de11628fe9a2025-08-20T02:28:10ZengMDPI AGBig Data and Cognitive Computing2504-22892024-11-0181115710.3390/bdcc8110157Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP ApplicationsRasheed Mohammad0Omer S. Alkhnbashi1Mohammad Hammoudeh2College of Computing, Birmingham City University, Birmingham B5 5JU, UKInformation and Computer Science Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi ArabiaInformation and Computer Science Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran 31261, Saudi ArabiaRecent studies have highlighted the growing integration of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and Large Language Models (LLMs) in healthcare. These technologies have shown promising outcomes across various healthcare tasks, especially in widely studied languages like English and Chinese. While NLP methods have been extensively researched, LLM applications in healthcare represent a developing area with significant potential. However, the successful implementation of LLMs in healthcare requires careful review and guidance from human experts to ensure accuracy and reliability. Despite their emerging value, research on NLP and LLM applications for Arabic remains limited particularly when compared to other languages. This gap is largely due to challenges like the lack of suitable training datasets, the diversity of Arabic dialects, and the language’s structural complexity. In this study, a panel of medical experts evaluated responses generated by LLMs, including ChatGPT, for Arabic healthcare inquiries, rating their accuracy between 85% and 90%. After fine tuning ChatGPT with data from the Altibbi platform, accuracy improved to a range of 87% to 92%. This study demonstrates the potential of LLMs in addressing Arabic healthcare queries especially in interpreting questions across dialects. It highlights the value of LLMs in enhancing healthcare communication within the Arabic-speaking world and points to a promising area for further research. This work establishes a foundation for optimizing NLP and LLM technologies to achieve greater linguistic and cultural adaptability in global healthcare settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-2289/8/11/157Large Language ModelNatural Language Processingartificial intelligence in Arabicpatient medical query
spellingShingle Rasheed Mohammad
Omer S. Alkhnbashi
Mohammad Hammoudeh
Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications
Big Data and Cognitive Computing
Large Language Model
Natural Language Processing
artificial intelligence in Arabic
patient medical query
title Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications
title_full Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications
title_fullStr Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications
title_full_unstemmed Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications
title_short Optimizing Large Language Models for Arabic Healthcare Communication: A Focus on Patient-Centered NLP Applications
title_sort optimizing large language models for arabic healthcare communication a focus on patient centered nlp applications
topic Large Language Model
Natural Language Processing
artificial intelligence in Arabic
patient medical query
url https://www.mdpi.com/2504-2289/8/11/157
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AT omersalkhnbashi optimizinglargelanguagemodelsforarabichealthcarecommunicationafocusonpatientcenterednlpapplications
AT mohammadhammoudeh optimizinglargelanguagemodelsforarabichealthcarecommunicationafocusonpatientcenterednlpapplications