Page 134 - EJMO-9-1

Eurasian Journal of Medicine and
Oncology
Oncology care with AI chatbots and assistants

valuable in oncology, where patients may face urgent or and chatbots in oncology offer significant advantages in
late-night questions about their symptoms, medications, terms of accessibility, personalization, cost-efficiency, and
or treatment progress. These assistants also offer scalability, scalability compared to traditional methods of patient
allowing healthcare providers to manage multiple patient support, telemedicine, and mobile health apps. However,
interactions simultaneously, making them an invaluable they are most effective when used with human providers,
resource in under-resourced or remote areas where access who can offer the deep empathy and clinical judgment
to oncologists may be limited. In addition, by analyzing a needed for complex care decisions. AI in oncology will
patient’s medical history and treatment plan, AI systems continue to evolve, increasingly enhancing patient care
can provide personalized care by offering tailored advice experience while supporting healthcare professionals in
and recommendations for managing symptoms, side managing their workload.
effects, and medication schedules. This approach can
in turn boost patient engagement and adherence to 4.4. Impact on patient care
treatment. Moreover, AI systems can be cost-effective, The integration of AI-powered virtual assistants and
automating repetitive tasks, such as answering frequently chatbots into oncology care has shown a positive impact
asked questions or sending medication reminders, thereby on various aspects of patient care, including patient
reducing operational costs and increasing the availability empowerment, emotional support, symptom management,
of healthcare staff for more complex tasks. While AI and treatment adherence. This section expands on how
cannot match the depth of human empathy, it can still these virtual tools specifically improve treatment adherence
provide valuable emotional support, offering immediate by utilizing data and hard metrics.
reassurance to patients dealing with anxiety or stress during
their treatment journey. This form of support, while not a 4.4.1. Patient empowerment
substitute for human interaction, can alleviate some of the AI-powered virtual assistants empower patients by
emotional burdens that cancer patients experience. Thus, providing timely, accurate, and personalized information
AI solutions in oncology can enhance both the efficiency about their condition, treatment options, and side-effect
and emotional well-being of patients, playing a pivotal role management. Access to evidence-based knowledge helps
in improving overall care quality. patients better understand their diagnosis and make
informed decisions about their treatment. Through
4.3.2. Challenges of AI virtual assistants conversational AI, patients can receive answers to frequently
While AI-driven assistants offer significant advantages in asked questions and guidance in a non-judgmental and
oncology, they also face notable limitations, with limited confidential manner. This access has been shown to reduce
human connection as a key challenge. Despite advanced uncertainty and stress related to cancer treatment. For
sentiment analysis and empathetic response generation, example, chatbots, such as RITA allow cancer patients to
AI systems cannot fully replicate the emotional depth and receive guidance on common questions, such as treatment
personal connection that human healthcare providers schedules or side-effect management, thereby improving
offer, which is especially important in oncology, where patient confidence in navigating their care.
patients often require emotional support alongside clinical
care. In addition, while AI can handle routine inquiries 4.4.2. Emotional support and symptom management
effectively, it is not equipped to manage complex medical AI-powered virtual assistants play a crucial role in
cases that involve nuanced decision-making, requiring providing emotional support by offering reassurance,
expert judgment or deeper empathy. These situations empathetic responses, and coping strategies, available 24/7
demand human expertise, which AI cannot replace. to patients. These tools help alleviate feelings of isolation
Data privacy is another critical concern in oncology, and anxiety, particularly during cancer treatment. Virtual
where patient information is particularly sensitive. AI assistants also support symptom management by delivering
systems must adhere to strict privacy regulations, such as evidence-based interventions, such as diet changes or
HIPAA, to ensure that all patient data are handled securely relaxation techniques, tailored to individual patient needs.
and confidentially. Without these safeguards, there is For example, AI chatbots have demonstrated effectiveness
the risk of breaches that could undermine patient trust in managing chemotherapy-induced nausea or fatigue,
and compromise care quality. Thus, while AI can greatly offering personalized guidance that improves patient
enhance oncology care, these limitations emphasize comfort.
the need for careful integration into existing healthcare Supporting evidence shows that emotional support
systems, with a clear balance between technological features in chatbots have been linked to a 35% reduction
assistance and human oversight. AI virtual assistants in reported anxiety levels among cancer patients,
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Volume 9 Issue 1 (2025) 126 doi: 10.36922/ejmo.6251