A Chatbot Versus Physicians to Provide Information for Patients With Breast Cancer: Blind, Randomized Controlled Noninferiority Trial.
J Med Internet Res
; 21(11): e15787, 2019 11 27.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31774408
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The data regarding the use of conversational agents in oncology are scarce.OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study was to verify whether an artificial conversational agent was able to provide answers to patients with breast cancer with a level of satisfaction similar to the answers given by a group of physicians.METHODS:
This study is a blind, noninferiority randomized controlled trial that compared the information given by the chatbot, Vik, with that given by a multidisciplinary group of physicians to patients with breast cancer. Patients were women with breast cancer in treatment or in remission. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group information questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-INFO25) was adapted and used to compare the quality of the information provided to patients by the physician or the chatbot. The primary outcome was to show that the answers given by the Vik chatbot to common questions asked by patients with breast cancer about their therapy management are at least as satisfying as answers given by a multidisciplinary medical committee by comparing the success rate in each group (defined by a score above 3). The secondary objective was to compare the average scores obtained by the chatbot and physicians for each INFO25 item.RESULTS:
A total of 142 patients were included and randomized into two groups of 71. They were all female with a mean age of 42 years (SD 19). The success rates (as defined by a score >3) was 69% (49/71) in the chatbot group versus 64% (46/71) in the physicians group. The binomial test showed the noninferiority (P<.001) of the chatbot's answers.CONCLUSIONS:
This is the first study that assessed an artificial conversational agent used to inform patients with cancer. The EORTC INFO25 scores from the chatbot were found to be noninferior to the scores of the physicians. Artificial conversational agents may save patients with minor health concerns from a visit to the doctor. This could allow clinicians to spend more time to treat patients who need a consultation the most. TRIAL REGISTRATION Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03556813, https//tinyurl.com/rgtlehq.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Relações Médico-Paciente
/
Qualidade de Vida
/
Interface Usuário-Computador
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Neoplasias da Mama
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Qualitative_research
Limite:
Adult
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Female
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Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Med Internet Res
Assunto da revista:
INFORMATICA MEDICA
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
França