An umbrella review encompassing 42 systematic reviews on medical applications of ChatGPT

Since its release, ChatGPT, which is a novel artificial intelligence (AI) tool, has become a global phenomenon with its utilization in various fields of life. In particular, ChatGPT has many potential uses in the medical field, and its evidence base is expanding momentously. We thus aimed at synthesizing the evidence on medical applications of ChatGPT. After searching several databases, 4351 articles were initially retrieved, eventually yielding that we retrieved 42 systematic reviews or meta-analyses. The main fields of applications were medical education, medical research, and actual use in clinical practice. Additional areas addressed in the literature focused on ethics issues, using ChatGPT as assistance in medical writing and research, as well as ChatGPT's demonstrated medical knowledge. While these reviews demonstrated the potential transformative role of ChatGPT in the medical field, there were also common areas of concern expressed in the articles. A frequently noted concern was inaccuracy, as well as the risk of hallucination. Other key limitations were limited validity, reliability, and privacy issues. In conclusion, the totality of evidence suggests that ChatGPT can be a valuable tool in the medical field, with favorable applications ranging from generation to dissemination and application of clinical knowledge. However, further refinements are required to ensure that its output can be directly applied to medical activities while protecting patient safety and rights.