Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Medical Education
Date Submitted: Jan 26, 2025
Date Accepted: Aug 21, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Assessing Pharmacists’ Use and Perception of Artificial Intelligence Chatbots in Pharmacy Practice: Survey and Instrument Validation Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Use of artificial intelligence (AI) based large language model chatbots, such as ChatGPT, have become increasingly popular in many disciplines. However, concerns exist regarding ethics, legal considerations, accuracy, and reproducibility with its use in healthcare practice, education, and research.
Objective:
This study aims to assess current perceptions and use of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in pharmacy practice from the perspective of a pharmacist preceptor and to determine factors that may influence the use of AI chatbots in practice.
Methods:
A cross-sectional survey of pharmacy practice preceptors from Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan was conducted using the validated Technology Acceptance Model Edited to Assess ChatGPT Adoption (TAME-ChatGPT) survey tool to collect information regarding current use of AI chatbots and factors associated with use including ease of use, perceived risk, technology or social influences, anxiety, and perceived usefulness.
Results:
A total of 194 responses (10.3% response rate) were received. Approximately one third (n=59, 30.5%) of respondents reported having used an AI chatbot, with 51.6% (n=100) indicating that they plan to start or will continue using chatbots in the future. In practice, common uses for AI chatbots included summarizing information, letter of recommendation writing, and obtaining disease state information. The two main constructs associated with use of chatbots identified from the TAME-ChatGPT tool included perceived risk of using AI and attitude towards AI. Factors that predicted pharmacists' current use of AI chatbots included positive attitude towards technology, coworker use of AI, and working in academia.
Conclusions:
The majority of pharmacist respondents had not used an AI chatbot and were unlikely to make patient care decisions based on information from a chatbot. The TAME-ChatGPT survey is validated for assessing chatbot use and attitudes among pharmacists, and future studies using this survey tool can guide the implementation of chatbots into pharmacy practice.
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