What Does AI Mean for the Future of Healthcare Communication?

// By Wendy Margolin //

In the brave new world of ChatGPT, most healthcare communicators and medical writers waver between somewhat nervous and cautiously optimistic.

If a pharmaceutical researcher asks ChatGPT about a drug’s efficacy, is that considered a clinical trial? Does it need to be filed on ClinicalTrials.gov?

These were the provocative questions that Jennifer Webster, senior director, oncology real-world evidence scientists team lead at Pfizer, asked a group of medical writers attending a February webinar for ISMPP, the global professional society for medical communication professionals.

That she even posed the question indicates how much today’s sophisticated artificial intelligence will change every industry of work — especially healthcare.

Webster’s answer? “Yes, and someday there will be metadata standards for reporting these types of studies.”

Outside of the tech world, many who were only recently introduced to ChatGPT late last year are feeling whiplash. Marketers on social media tirelessly discuss it, expressing a mix of awe and admiration.

AI has been in use for years, but the possibility of the technology dramatically changing the way we work and live was reserved for science fiction movies.

Not anymore. The technological abilities of AI in 2023 go way beyond IBM Watson winning Jeopardy. Marketers and communicators from across the healthcare spectrum ponder the implications, assess the risks, and test the brakes on what feels like a runaway train.

And ChatGPT itself weighs in on its potential to transform healthcare marketing in the article that follows.

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