ArticleJMIR diabetes2025
"Digital Clinicians" Performing Obesity Medication Self-Injection Education: Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in JMIR diabetes, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Synthetic relationships with Social Pedagogical Agents in education: a scoping literature review.Frontiers in artificial intelligence · 2026Pooled it
- AI-Generated Avatar Videos for Postoperative Patient Education Among Health Care Workers: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR perioperative medicine · 2026Trial
- Behavior Change Content and Implementation of Large Language Model-Driven Conversational Agents in Cardiometabolic Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Artificial Intelligence Physician Avatars for Patient Education: A Pilot Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Psychiatrists' experiences and opinions of generative AI: An exploratory online mixed methods survey in Germany.Digital healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have shown competency in a range of areas, including clinical note taking, diagnosis, research, and emotional support. An obesity epidemic, alongside a growth in novel injectable pharmacological solutions, has put a strain on limited resources. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the use of a chatbot integrated with a digital avatar to create a "digital clinician." This was used to provide mandatory patient education for those beginning semaglutide once-weekly self-administered injections for the treatment of overweight and obesity at a national center. Methods: A "digital clinician" with facial and vocal recognition technology was generated with a bespoke 10- to 15-minute clinician-validated tutorial. A feasibility randomized controlled noninferiority trial compared knowledge test scores, self-efficacy, consultation satisfaction, and trust levels between those using the AI-powered clinician avatar onsite and those receiving conventional semaglutide education from nursing staff. Attitudes were recorded immediately after the intervention and again at 2 weeks after the education session. Results: A total of 43 participants were recruited, 27 to the intervention group and 16 to the control group. Patients in the "digital clinician" group were significantly more knowledgeable postconsultation (median 10, IQR 10-11 vs median 8, IQR 7-9.3; P<.001). Patients in the control group were more satisfied with their consultation (median 7, IQR 6-7 vs median 7, IQR 7-7; P<.001) and had more trust in their education provider (median 7, IQR 4.8-7 vs median 7, IQR 7-7; P<.001). There was no significant difference in reported levels of self-efficacy (P=.57). 81% (22/27) participants in the intervention group said they would use the resource in their own time. Conclusions: Bespoke AI chatbots integrated with digital avatars to create a "digital clinician" may perform health care education in a clinical environment. They can ensure higher levels of knowledge transfer yet are not as trusted as their human counterparts. "Digital clinicians" may have the potential to aid the redistribution of resources, alleviating pressure on bariatric services and health care systems, the extent to which remains to be determined in future studies.
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Registered trials
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