Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38475802›Full record

ArticleBMC medical informatics and decision making2024

Assessing the research landscape and clinical utility of large language models: a scoping review.

Ye-Jean Park, Abhinav Pillai, Jiawen Deng, Eddie Guo, Mehul Gupta, Mike Paget, Christopher Naugler

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical informatics and decision making, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 111 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
111citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

111 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  4. AI in Medical Questionnaires: Scoping ReviewJournal of medical Internet research · 2025
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51 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Ye-Jean ParkTemerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Cir, M5S 1A8, Toronto, ON, Canada. yejean.park@mail.utoronto.ca.
Abhinav Pillai *Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, T2N 4N1, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Jiawen Deng *Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Cir, M5S 1A8, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Eddie GuoCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, T2N 4N1, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Mehul GuptaCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, T2N 4N1, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Mike PagetCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, T2N 4N1, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Christopher NauglerCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr NW, T2N 4N1, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

importanceLarge language models (LLMs) like OpenAI's ChatGPT are powerful generative systems that rapidly synthesize natural language responses. Research on LLMs has revealed their potential and pitfalls, especially in clinical settings. However, the evolving landscape of LLM research in medicine has left several gaps regarding their evaluation, application, and evidence base.

objectiveThis scoping review aims to (1) summarize current research evidence on the accuracy and efficacy of LLMs in medical applications, (2) discuss the ethical, legal, logistical, and socioeconomic implications of LLM use in clinical settings, (3) explore barriers and facilitators to LLM implementation in healthcare, (4) propose a standardized evaluation framework for assessing LLMs' clinical utility, and (5) identify evidence gaps and propose future research directions for LLMs in clinical applications. EVIDENCE REVIEW: We screened 4,036 records from MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, medRxiv, bioRxiv, and arXiv from January 2023 (inception of the search) to June 26, 2023 for English-language papers and analyzed findings from 55 worldwide studies. Quality of evidence was reported based on the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine recommendations.

findingsOur results demonstrate that LLMs show promise in compiling patient notes, assisting patients in navigating the healthcare system, and to some extent, supporting clinical decision-making when combined with human oversight. However, their utilization is limited by biases in training data that may harm patients, the generation of inaccurate but convincing information, and ethical, legal, socioeconomic, and privacy concerns. We also identified a lack of standardized methods for evaluating LLMs' effectiveness and feasibility. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This review thus highlights potential future directions and questions to address these limitations and to further explore LLMs' potential in enhancing healthcare delivery.

Indexed as

Clinical Decision-MakingEvidence-Based MedicineHealth FacilitiesHumansLanguageMEDLINEChatGPTClinical settingsLarge language modelsNatural language processingScoping review

Identifiers

PMID38475802
PMCPMC10936025

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.