JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Many potential benefits have been theorized on the uses for chatbots within the context of healthcare, such as improved patient education and treatment compliance. However, little is known about the perspectives of practicing medical physicians on the use of chatbots in healthcare, even though these individuals are the traditional benchmark of proper patient care.

Objective:

This study investigates the perceptions of physicians regarding the use of healthcare chatbots, including their benefits, challenges, and risks to patients.

Methods:

One hundred (100) practicing physicians across the United States completed a web-based, self-report survey to examine their opinions of chatbot technology in healthcare. Descriptive statistics and frequencies were used to examine the characteristics of participants.

Results:

A wide variety of positive and negative perspectives were reported on the use of healthcare chatbots, including the importance to patients for managing their own health, and the benefits on physical, psychological, and behavioral health outcomes. More consistent agreement occurred with regard to administrative benefits associated with chatbots; many physicians believed that chatbots would be most beneficial for scheduling doctor appointments (78%), locating health clinics (76%), or providing medication information (71%). Conversely, many physicians believed that chatbots cannot effectively care for all of patients’ needs (76%), cannot display human emotion (72%), and cannot provide detailed diagnosis and treatment due to not knowing all of the personal factors associated with the patient (71%). Many physicians also stated that healthcare chatbots could be a risk to patients if they self-diagnose too often (74%) and do not accurately understand the diagnoses (74%).

Conclusions:

Physicians believe in both costs and benefits associated with chatbots, depending on the logistics and specific roles of the technology. Chatbots may have a beneficial role to play in healthcare to support, motivate, and coach patients, as well as for streamlining organizational tasks; in essence, chatbots could become a surrogate for non-medical caregivers. However, concerns remain on the inability of chatbots to comprehend the emotional state of humans, as well as in areas where expert medical knowledge and intelligence is required.