Doctors, watch out! Artificial intelligence, aka AI, may be coming for your white coats. The study recently published by JAMA Internal Medicine discovered that ChatGPT performed better than human doctors in four out of five cases when answering patient questions. 79% of the participants preferred the responses from the AI. Gizmodo reported on these findings.
Their responses were not only more detailed; medical experts discovered AI to be more compassionate too.
This could have significant effects on the healthcare sector. However, there are scenarios in which this technology can be advantageous and facilitate medical consults, particularly after the pandemic. Experts contend that this could be of great use.
Dr. John W. Ayers, an expert in Innovation and Vice Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health at UC San Diego School of Medicine, holds both a Ph.D. and an MA degree.
Dr. John W. Ayers says:
“Doctor’s inboxes are filled to the brim after this transition to virtual care because of COVID-19,”
“Patient emails go unanswered or get poor responses, and providers get burnout and leave their jobs. With that in mind, I thought ‘How can I help in this scenario?’”
“Medicine stands out as one field in which there is tremendous potential.”
AI has been a burgeoning force in the medical sphere. Recent editorials in The New England Journal of Medicine suggest AI is vital to health care, aiding patients and insurers during claims administration. Moreover, it has been revealed that artificial intelligence is being deployed to interpret radiological and histological images.
Medical professionals should pay close attention to the rapid development of AI; however, further research is needed for human doctors to be fully replaced. Ayers and other experts agree that this concern shouldn’t be ignored.
Steven Lin says:
“The results are fascinating, if not all that surprising, and will certainly spur further much-needed research,”
The study, though skewed due to the judging methodology for quality, is still “encouraging” and points to potential in the form of chatbots for public health, according to the researcher. He added that its results offer an opportunity for further growth.
AI language models like ChatGPT can be a valuable tool in the healthcare industry, particularly in assisting medical professionals in making informed decisions about patient care. However, they should not be viewed as a replacement for human doctors but rather as a complementary technology that can enhance patients’ quality of care.
Source: Black Enterprise
