Evaluation of the accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses to and references for clinical questions in physical therapy

Abstract

[Purpose] This study evaluated the accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses to and references for five clinical questions in physical therapy based on the Physical Therapy Guidelines and assessed this language model’s potential as a tool for supporting clinical decision-making in the rehabilitation field. [Participants and Methods] Five clinical questions from the “Stroke”, “Musculoskeletal disorders”, and “Internal disorders” sections of the Physical Therapy Guidelines, released by the Japanese Society of Physical Therapy, were presented to ChatGPT. ChatGPT was instructed to provide responses in Japanese accompanied by references such as PubMed IDs or digital object identifiers. The accuracy of the generated content and references was evaluated by two assessors with expertise in their respective sections by using a 4-point scale, and comments were provided for point deductions. The inter-rater agreement was evaluated using weighted kappa coefficients. [Results] ChatGPT demonstrated adequate accuracy in generating content for clinical questions in physical therapy. However, the accuracy of the references was poor, with a significant number of references being non-existent or misinterpreted. [Conclusion] ChatGPT has limitations in reference selection and reliability. While ChatGPT can offer accurate responses to clinical questions in physical therapy, it should be used with caution because it is not a completely reliable model.