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Free ChatGPT may answer incorrectly to drug queries, study finds
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By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted December 5, 2023
The free version of ChatGPT may pose patient risks by providing inaccurate or incomplete information on drug-related questions, a new study says.
Pharmacists at Long Island University conducted the research.
Out of 39 questions posed to the free ChatGPT in May, only 10 responses were deemed satisfactory.
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The remaining 29 either failed to address the questions directly or offered inaccurate and incomplete information, raising concerns about potential harm to users.
Sara Grossman, the study's lead author and an associate professor of pharmacy practice at LIU, cautioned patients for relying on the chatbot.
She said to verify the responses with trusted sources like healthcare professionals or reliable government medication information websites like the National Institutes of Health's MedlinePlus.
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The study sheds light on the limitations of ChatGPT's free version, which relies on data sets up to September 2021.
This data limitation, coupled with instances of inaccurate responses, raises questions about the reliability of the free version.
It remains unclear how accurate the paid versions of ChatGPT are.
They started using real-time internet browsing earlier this year and can address medication-related questions.
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Increased scrutiny of ChatGPT's accuracy
After being hailed as the fastest-growing consumer internet app a year ago, ChatGPT has faced increased scrutiny.
It includes accuracy, fraud, intellectual property, discrimination, and misinformation concerns.
In July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigated the chatbot's accuracy and consumer protections.
ChatGPT recorded roughly 1.7 billion visits in October.
But the exact number of users seeking medical information from the chatbot remains unknown.
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The research focused on the free version to mirror the experiences of the general population, acknowledges that a paid version might yield different results.
The study provides a snapshot of ChatGPT's performance earlier this year.
But there's a possibility that the free version has since improved.
It prompts further investigation into its current efficacy.
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