Assessing ChatGPT 4.0's Capabilities in the United Kingdom Medical Licensing Examination (UKMLA): A Robust Categorical Analysis.

Journal: Scientific reports
PMID:

Abstract

Advances in the various applications of artificial intelligence will have important implications for medical training and practice. The advances in ChatGPT-4 alongside the introduction of the medical licensing assessment (MLA) provide an opportunity to compare GPT-4's medical competence against the expected level of a United Kingdom junior doctor and discuss its potential in clinical practice. Using 191 freely available questions in MLA style, we assessed GPT-4's accuracy with and without offering multiple-choice options. We compared single and multi-step questions, which targeted different points in the clinical process, from diagnosis to management. A chi-squared test was used to assess statistical significance. GPT-4 scored 86.3% and 89.6% in papers one-and-two respectively. Without the multiple-choice options, GPT's performance was 61.5% and 74.7% in papers one-and-two respectively. There was no significant difference between single and multistep questions, but GPT-4 answered 'management' questions significantly worse than 'diagnosis' questions with no multiple-choice options (p = 0.015). GPT-4's accuracy across categories and question structures suggest that LLMs are competently able to process clinical scenarios but remain incapable of understanding these clinical scenarios. Large-Language-Models incorporated into practice alongside a trained practitioner may balance risk and benefit as the necessary robust testing on evolving tools is conducted.

Authors

  • Octavi Casals-Farre
    Centre for Medical Education (C4ME), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park Campus, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, United Kingdom.
  • Ravanth Baskaran
    Centre for Medical Education (C4ME), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park Campus, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, United Kingdom.
  • Aditya Singh
    Centre for Medical Education (C4ME), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park Campus, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, United Kingdom.
  • Harmeena Kaur
    University of Southampton School of Medicine, 12 University Rd, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
  • Tazim Ul Hoque
    Keele University School of Medicine, Keele University, University Road, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom.
  • Andreia de Almeida
    Centre for Medical Education (C4ME), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park Campus, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, United Kingdom.
  • Marcus Coffey
    Centre for Medical Education (C4ME), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park Campus, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, United Kingdom.
  • Athanasios Hassoulas
    Centre for Medical Education (C4ME), School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Heath Park Campus, Cardiff, CF14 4YS, United Kingdom. hassoulasa2@cardiff.ac.uk.