Stakeholder-centric participation in large language models enhanced health systems

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Large language models (LLMs) offer significant potential to revolutionize healthcare delivery, impacting clinical decision support, patient care, and administrative processes.
• However, successful and sustainable integration of LLMs into healthcare systems is challenged by participatory gaps, potentially misaligning systems with stakeholder needs and ethical considerations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the application of participatory methods throughout the development lifecycle of LLM-enhanced health systems (LLMHS).
• To argue for the critical role of participatory approaches in engaging diverse stakeholders in LLMHS development.
• To investigate how LLM techniques can foster novel participatory opportunities, enhancing stakeholder engagement and driving technical innovation.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and conceptual analysis of participatory design principles in the context of LLM development for healthcare.
• Examination of existing and potential LLM applications to facilitate stakeholder interaction and feedback loops.
• Framework development for integrating participatory methods across the LLMHS lifecycle.

Main Results:

• Participatory approaches are essential for aligning LLMHS with the practical and ethical requirements of healthcare stakeholders.
• LLM technologies can be leveraged to create innovative participatory methods, deepening stakeholder engagement.
• A synergistic relationship exists between participatory methods and LLM technical advancement in healthcare.

Conclusions:

• LLM-enhanced health systems require robust participatory strategies to ensure alignment with real-world healthcare demands and ethical standards.
• The integration of participatory methods and LLM innovation can lead to the development of next-generation healthcare systems.
• Future research should focus on empirical validation and implementation of these integrated approaches.