ArticleJournal of neurology2024
ChatGPT vs. neurologists: a cross-sectional study investigating preference, satisfaction ratings and perceived empathy in responses among people living with multiple sclerosis.
Article in Journal of neurology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Impact of Large Language Model-Based AI Tools on Physician-Patient Communication: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Pooled it
- AI chatbots versus human healthcare professionals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of empathy in patient care.British medical bulletin · 2025Pooled it
- Patients prefer ChatGPT to institutional websites for questions on radiation-based imaging exams: international mixed-methods study.Radiology advances · 2026Article
- Patient and clinician engagement with generative artificial intelligence (GenAI): A scoping review of implications for patient-centered communication.Patient education and counseling · 2026Article
- AI-driven Medical Care: Evaluation of Large Language Models in Generating Personalized Stroke Education Materials.Healthcare informatics research · 2026Article
- Large Language Models in Clinical Neurology: A Systematic Review.Research square · 2026Article
- Mapping applications and evaluations of LLM-enabled AI chatbots for health purposes: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- COVID-19-associated neurological and psychological manifestations.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025Review
- Empowering standardized residency training in China through large language models: problem analysis and solutions.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- Detecting New Lesions Using a Large Language Model: Applications in Real-World Multiple Sclerosis Datasets.Annals of neurology · 2025Article
- Clinical Performance and Communication Skills of ChatGPT Versus Physicians in Emergency Medicine: Simulated Patient Study.JMIR medical informatics · 2025Article
- ChatGPT as a Virtual Patient: Written Empathic Expressions During Medical History Taking.Medical science educator · 2025Article
- "Having providers who are trained and have empathy is life-saving": Improving primary care communication through thematic analysis with ChatGPT and human expertise.PEC innovation · 2025Article
- Performance of ChatGPT in Pediatric Audiology as Rated by Students and Experts.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Healthcare professionals and the public sentiment analysis of ChatGPT in clinical practice.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Comparison of artificial intelligence models and physicians in patient education for varicocele embolization: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in radiology · 2025Article
- Current challenges in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis: diagnosis, activity detection and treatment.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Neurologists' Openness to Evidence-Based Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Care: Individual and Structural Determinants.Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment · 2025Article
- Artificial intelligence and science of patient input: a perspective from people with multiple sclerosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- ChatGPT, Google, or PINK? Who Provides the Most Reliable Information on Side Effects of Systemic Therapy for Early Breast Cancer?Clinics and practice · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
50 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChatGPT is an open-source natural language processing software that replies to users' queries. We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess people living with Multiple Sclerosis' (PwMS) preferences, satisfaction, and empathy toward two alternate responses to four frequently-asked questions, one authored by a group of neurologists, the other by ChatGPT.
methodsAn online form was sent through digital communication platforms. PwMS were blind to the author of each response and were asked to express their preference for each alternate response to the four questions. The overall satisfaction was assessed using a Likert scale (1-5); the Consultation and Relational Empathy scale was employed to assess perceived empathy.
resultsWe included 1133 PwMS (age, 45.26 ± 11.50 years; females, 68.49%). ChatGPT's responses showed significantly higher empathy scores (Coeff = 1.38; 95% CI = 0.65, 2.11; p > z < 0.01), when compared with neurologists' responses. No association was found between ChatGPT' responses and mean satisfaction (Coeff = 0.03; 95% CI = - 0.01, 0.07; p = 0.157). College graduate, when compared with high school education responder, had significantly lower likelihood to prefer ChatGPT response (IRR = 0.87; 95% CI = 0.79, 0.95; p < 0.01).
conclusionsChatGPT-authored responses provided higher empathy than neurologists. Although AI holds potential, physicians should prepare to interact with increasingly digitized patients and guide them on responsible AI use. Future development should consider tailoring AIs' responses to individual characteristics. Within the progressive digitalization of the population, ChatGPT could emerge as a helpful support in healthcare management rather than an alternative.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.