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Pre-Visit AI Symptom-Checking and Shared Decision-Making in Spine Physical Therapy
Sponsor: Assiut University
Summary
Artificial intelligence (AI) symptom-checking tools, including large language models such as ChatGPT, are increasingly used by patients before they seek care. These tools may shape patients' beliefs about their diagnosis, how serious they think their condition is, and when they decide to seek treatment. It is not yet known how this pre-visit AI use affects the initial physical therapy encounter for spine-related problems. This prospective observational cohort study examines whether prior use of AI symptom-checking tools influences the first physical therapy evaluation in adults presenting with spine-related musculoskeletal complaints (neck, thoracic, or low back pain, with or without radicular symptoms). Consecutive patients attending an outpatient physical therapy clinic for a new evaluation are grouped as AI users or non-AI users based on whether they used such a tool for their current complaint in the previous 30 days. The primary outcome is shared decision-making, measured with the SDM-Q-9 immediately after the initial evaluation. Secondary outcomes include stage of presentation, agreement between the patient's expected diagnosis and the clinician's classification, baseline pain and disability, functional performance, and clinical outcomes at 2 and 6 weeks. The investigators hypothesize that prior AI use is associated with differences in shared decision-making and in how patients present for care.
Official title: When AI Is the First Clinician: Impact of Pre-Visit AI Use on Presentation, Diagnostic Expectations, and Shared Decision-Making in Spine Physical Therapy
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
200
Start Date
2026-06-10
Completion Date
2027-02-10
Last Updated
2026-07-29
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
re-visit AI symptom-checker use
Self-reported use of an AI-based symptom-checking tool (e.g., a large language model such as ChatGPT) for the current spine-related complaint during the 30 days before the initial physical therapy evaluation. This exposure occurs naturally prior to presentation and is not assigned by the investigator. Exposure status is ascertained at baseline via a questionnaire capturing whether AI was used (yes/no), the type of tool, frequency of use, degree of personalization, and the reported influence of AI use on care-seeking timing.
Locations (1)
Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt
Asyut, Egypt