Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Healthcare: A Synthesis of Literature on Preliminary Evidence of Use in Clinical Services (Preprint)

Abstract

Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools and Applications (GenAI) are proliferating in healthcare. Physicians, specialists, and other providers have started primarily using GenAIs as an aid or tool to gather knowledge, information, training, or suggestive dialogue generation between the doctor and patient or between the doctor and the patient’s family or friends. As adoption continues, it is essential to validate the effectiveness of the

This study aims to review and synthesize preliminary evidence on how GenAI is used to inform, guide, and automate activities or functions during clinical service encounters in healthcare.

We screened and selected 161 articles to review from PubMed that have relevance to inform evidence of GenAI use in clinical services. The articles were categorized based on their significance on clinical service functions or activities.

We found that 80% of the articles reflect assistance, with 8% on any guidance role of GenAI. Only 4% of studies point to the automation of clinical services using GenAI.

GenAI mainly informs rather than assists and automates any service functions. Presumably, the potential in clinical service is there, but it has yet to be actualized for GenAIs. More evidence is needed to keep up with the optimism that forward-thinking healthcare organizations will take advantage of GenAI, with concerns about how to leverage GenAI to help in the systemic digital transformation of healthcare.