ChatGPT — The New Source for Inaccurate Drug Information

Healthcare professionals and consumers should be cautious of using ChatGPT for drug information questions | Viewpoints | By Ann Johnson, Pharm.D. and Sydney Stawarz

Practicing pharmacists are already all too familiar with inaccurate drug information being presented to their patients. Whether patients are viewing misleading social media posts or reading other patients’ responses in online forums, pharmacists have become adept at challenging their patients on this misinformation. Now, another source of inaccurate information is popping up: ChatGPT. In November 2022, OpenAI launched its artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, which produces responses when given input from users. This technology is believed to have a potential impact on the healthcare industry. Since its launch, there have been several studies assessing ChatGPT’s ability to answer and provide resources for medication-related questions.

The first study examined was conducted by a group of drug information specialists from Long Island University and compared ChatGPT’s drug information question responses to their own answers following a literature search. The investigators found that r…