Mapping AI Chatbot Integration in Healthcare

Artificial intelligence chatbots are being adopted across healthcare at an accelerating pace — but there is little systematic understanding of how, where, and by whom they are actually being used. This project aims to change that.

What We're Doing

We are designing and distributing a structured survey to map patterns of AI chatbot use in healthcare. The survey targets three groups:

• Patients — How are people using AI tools to manage their health, symptoms, and interactions with the medical system?
• Clinicians — Are doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals using AI assistants in their workflows? How, and with what effect?
• Institutions — Which hospitals and health systems have formally adopted AI chatbot tools, and how are they governed?

Why This Matters

Before we can evaluate whether AI chatbots are helping or harming healthcare outcomes, we need to understand what is actually happening on the ground. Most existing literature is either anecdotal or focused on narrow use cases. This survey will generate a broader picture.

Research Questions

• What types of AI chatbots are most commonly used in healthcare contexts?
• Do usage patterns differ across demographics, specialties, or geographies?
• What concerns do clinicians and patients have about AI chatbot use?
• Are there emergent use cases that have not yet been studied?

Status

Active — survey design phase.