Artificial Intelligent Virtual Assistant for Plastic Surgery Patient's Frequently Asked Questions

Abstract

Background Artificial Intelligent Virtual Assistants (AIVA) is a segment of artificial intelligence that is rapidly developing. However, its utilization to address patients' frequently asked questions remains unexplored. Methods We developed an AIVA to answer questions related to 10 frequent topics asked by plastic surgery patients in our institution. Between July 27, 2018, and August 10 of 2018, we recruited subjects with administrative positions at our health care institution to chat with the virtual assistant. They asked, with their own words, 1 question for each topic and filled out a satisfaction questionnaire. Postsurvey analysis of questions and answers allowed assessment of the virtual assistant's accuracy. Results Thirty participants completed the survey. The majority was female (70%), and the mean age was 27.76 years (SD, 8.68 [19–51] years). The overall accuracy of the plastic surgery AIVA was 92.3% (277/294 questions), and participants considered the answer correct in 83.3% of the time (250/294 answers). Most of the participants considered the AIVA easy to use, answered adequately, and could be helpful for patients. However, when asked if this technology could replace a human assistant, they stayed neutral.

Artificial Intelligence in Plastic Surgery: Current Applications, Future Directions, and Ethical Implications

“…Recognizing the potential utility of a smartphone in addressing frequently asked questions in plastic surgery clinics, Boczar et al developed a smartphone application trained to provide answers to questions within 10 chosen topics of frequent concern to preoperative patients. 25 Participants asked the application questions from each of the chosen topics in their own words. 25 After a training period, the application provided an appropriate answer 92.3% of the time, with participants determining the answer to be accurate 83.3% of the time.…”

“… 25 Participants asked the application questions from each of the chosen topics in their own words. 25 After a training period, the application provided an appropriate answer 92.3% of the time, with participants determining the answer to be accurate 83.3% of the time. 25 The authors anticipate the integration of the technology into clinical practice to improve patient support and free up time for surgeons.…”

“… 25 The authors anticipate the integration of the technology into clinical practice to improve patient support and free up time for surgeons. 25 …”

“…The plastic surgeon’s usual cognitive tasks of diagnosis, case planning, and perioperative assessment could be streamlined by thinking machines, allowing for increased productivity and patient satisfaction. 23 , 25 The deductive reasoning that drives surgical decision-making depends on the ability of the surgeon to produce an adequate list of differential diagnoses, to consider the best tests to establish the diagnosis, and to develop a plan to address the diagnosis using educated judgment and heuristic techniques. 35 AI-powered decision-making tools show tremendous potential in improving surgical outcomes by augmenting these processes via automated data acquisition, predictive analytics, and appropriate integration with human surgical intuition.…”

A Systematic Review of Artificial Intelligence Applications in Plastic Surgery: Looking to the Future

“…However, only six articles were published in journals specific to plastic surgery. 27,28,32,34,41,48 These trends reinforce the notion that the lack of centralized exposure may limit surgeon awareness of AI in plastic surgery and possible publication bias to journals with higher impact factors (IFs). For example, the most frequent publisher, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IF = 10.961), has a higher IF than any of the referenced plastic surgery journals (IF = 1.539-4.73).…”