ChatGPT utilization within the building blocks of the healthcare services: A mixed-methods study

Digit Health. 2024 Nov 18:10:20552076241297059. doi: 10.1177/20552076241297059. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Introduction: ChatGPT, as an AI tool, has been introduced in healthcare for various purposes. The objective of the study was to investigate the principal benefits of ChatGPT utilization in healthcare services and to identify potential domains for its expansion within the building blocks of the healthcare industry.

Methods: A comprehensive three-phase study was conducted employing mixed methods. The initial phase comprised a systematic review and thematic analysis of the data. In the subsequent phases, a questionnaire, developed based on the findings from the first phase, was distributed to a sample of eight experts. The objective was to prioritize the benefits and potential expansion domains of ChatGPT in healthcare building blocks, utilizing gray SWARA (Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) and gray MABAC (Multi-Attributive Border Approximation Area Comparison), respectively.

Results: The systematic review yielded 74 studies. A thematic analysis of the data from these studies identified 11 unique themes. In the second phase, employing the gray SWARA method, clinical decision-making (weight: 0.135), medical diagnosis (weight: 0.098), medical procedures (weight: 0.070), and patient-centered care (weight: 0.053) emerged as the most significant benefit of ChatGPT in the healthcare sector. Subsequently, it was determined that ChatGPT demonstrated the highest level of usefulness in the information and infrastructure, information and communication technologies blocks.

Conclusion: The study concluded that, despite the significant benefits of ChatGPT in the clinical domains of healthcare, it exhibits a more pronounced potential for growth within the informational domains of the healthcare industry's building blocks, rather than within the domains of intervention and clinical services.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; ChatGPT; Chatbot; gray MABAC; gray SWARA; healthcare services.