THE HAGUE: Artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT diagnosed patients rushed to emergency at least as well as doctors and in some cases outperformed them, Dutch researchers have found, saying AI could “revolutionise the medical field”.

But the report published on Wednesday also stressed ER doctors needn’t hang up their scrubs just yet, with the chatbot potentially able to speed up diagnosis but not replace human medical judgement and experience.

Scientists examined 30 cases treated in an emergency service in the Netherlands in 2022, feeding in anonymised patient history, lab tests and the doctors’ own observations to ChatGPT, asking it to provide five possible diagnoses.

They then compared the chatbot’s shortlist to the same five diagnoses suggested by ER doctors with access to the same information, then cross-checked with the correct diagnosis in each case.

Doctors had the correct diagnosis in the top five in 87 per cent of cases, compared to 97pc for ChatGPT version 3.5 and 87pc for version 4.0.

“Simply put, this indicates that ChatGPT was able to suggest medical diagnoses much like a human doctor would,” said Hidde ten Berg, from the emergency medicine department at the Netherlands’ Jeroen Bosch Hospital.

Co-author Steef Kurstjens said the survey did not indicate that computers could one day be running the ER, but that AI can play a vital role in assisting under-pressure medics.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

IMF chief’s advice
Updated 23 Sep, 2023

IMF chief’s advice

Pakistan's prolonged fiscal deficit, surpassing 7pc, stems from the government's reluctance to widen the tax base.
No closure
Updated 23 Sep, 2023

No closure

WHAT is a Pakistani life worth in the eyes of the state? Clearly not enough, if one were to draw a comparison with...
Missing footballers
23 Sep, 2023

Missing footballers

IN the nation’s living memory, Balochistan’s burns have never run dry. The province has grappled with historical...
Lawless city
22 Sep, 2023

Lawless city

A GRIM milestone has just been passed in Karachi. The recent death of a teenage robbery victim brings the number of...
Another Sharif trip
22 Sep, 2023

Another Sharif trip

THE sudden arrival of former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif in London, a mere 48 hours after he touched down in...
Delayed elections
Updated 22 Sep, 2023

Delayed elections

If ECP wishes to affirm that it is serious, it should start moving on all pending matters so that the possibility of any further delay is minimised.