ChatGPT may be after some jobs, but it intends to leave patient-facing ones to the pros — at least for now. 

In an interview published to NEJM Catalyst April 4, David Asch, MD — senior vice dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, based in Philadelphia — asked the AI about its competencies and intentions in healthcare. 

ChatGPT said it has several potential opportunities in healthcare, including automation of clinical documentation; analysis of medical research; virtually assisting patients with scheduling and medical questions; medical education; and chatbot-based applications to improve patient engagement. 

The AI can also reduce workload for clinicians and improve health equity and behavioral healthcare access, it told Dr. Asch.

But these changes can’t be implemented in everyday healthcare quite yet, the AI said. Healthcare organizations will “need to comply with a range of regulations, such as HIPAA,” and there are still concerns regarding data privacy, security and quality once it has access to healthcare databases. 

Human oversight will also be required to ensure ChatGPT does not make mistakes in this realm, according to the AI. 

When Dr. Asch congratulated ChatGPT for passing the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, the AI responded with hesitation.

“The fact that ChatGPT was able to pass the test suggests that it has a high level of medical knowledge and may be able to assist doctors in making diagnoses and treatment decisions,” ChatGPT said. “However, it is important to note that passing a medical licensing exam is not the same as being able to practice medicine…”

Dr. Asch followed up, “Shouldn’t doctors be a little bit freaked out about ChatGPT?”

“It’s understandable that some doctors may have concerns about the use of ChatGPT in healthcare, as it represents a significant change to the way medical care is traditionally delivered,” the AI replied. “However, it is important to recognize that ChatGPT is not intended to replace doctors, but rather to assist them in providing better care to patients.”

The AI continued to assure Dr. Asch that ChatGPT can not fully replace medical professionals, even if it becomes more savvy with time. 

“As a language model, ChatGPT is not capable of replacing human healthcare professionals,” ChatGPT said. “Human healthcare professionals have a deep understanding of the nuances of healthcare and the emotional and social context of their patients, and this is something that ChatGPT can’t replicate.”