ChatGPT compared with anesthesiologists for addressing patients' anesthesia questions before surgery

Patients often have questions about anesthesia, such as how to get ready for surgery, what will happen on the day of surgery, and how anesthesia may affect them. These questions can come up after a clinic appointment, when an anesthesiologist may not be readily available. AI tools such as ChatGPT may offer another way to access quick, easy-to-understand information, but their answers must be carefully studied before they are used in healthcare.

In this study, 194 adults visiting a clinic before surgery each submitted a real question about their upcoming care. Both an anesthesiologist and ChatGPT answered every question. Patients saw the two answers in a random order and were not told who wrote them. They rated how well each answer met their needs. Anesthesia experts also checked whether the AI-generated responses answered the question appropriately and contained any inaccurate or made-up information.

ChatGPT's answers were not meaningfully worse than the anesthesiologists' answers at helping patients learn what they wanted to know or answering their questions appropriately. Patients also gave the ChatGPT answers favourable ratings for satisfaction, completeness, empathy, and support with decision-making. Experts found little concern about incorrect or made-up information in either set of answers.

These findings suggest that carefully designed AI tools, with oversight from healthcare professionals, may one day help patients receive clear and timely information around surgery. These tools are not meant to replace anesthesia doctors, personalized medical advice, or appointments before surgery. Future research should test whether they can safely and fairly improve access to information, communication, and the patient experience in everyday healthcare.