Patient perceptions of empathy in physician and artificial intelligence chatbot responses to patient questions about cancer
David Chen, Kabir Chauhan, Rod Parsa, Zhihui Amy Liu, Fei‐Fei Liu, Ernie Mak, Lawson Eng, Breffni Hannon, Jennifer Croke, Andrew Hope, Nazanin Fallah‐Rad, Phillip Wong, Srinivas Raman
Abstract
Artificial intelligence chatbots can draft empathetic responses to cancer questions, but how patients perceive chatbot empathy remains unclear. Here, we found that people with cancer rated chatbot responses as more empathetic than physician responses. However, differences between patient and physician perceptions of empathy highlight the need for further research to tailor clinical messaging to better meet patient needs. Chatbots may be effective in generating empathetic template responses to patient questions under clinician oversight.
Topics & Concepts
ChatbotEmpathyPerceptionPsychologyCancerMedicineWorld Wide WebComputer scienceSocial psychologyInternal medicineNeuroscienceEmpathy and Medical EducationArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and EducationAI in Service Interactions