In the study, researchers compared two sets of written responses to 195 real-world patient questions.
The physician responses were sourced from patient questions asked on Reddit, while the other responses were written by ChatGPT.
Both sets of responses were evaluated by a three-member panel of licensed healthcare professionals, with 79 percent preferring the answers of ChatGPT.
More than a quarter of the physicians’ responses were marked as less acceptable in quality by the panel, while ChatGPT’s responses were deemed less acceptable only 3 percent of the time.
The panel also found that ChatGPT’s responses to patient inquiries were more empathetic. Only 5 percent of physicians’ responses were marked as empathetic.
The authors noted one limitation of the study is that the physician responses came from a public online forum, and physicians in a clinical setting may form their answers differently based on their established relationships with patients.
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