How ChatGPT technology will change your life

Have you heard the chatter surrounding a newfangled thing called ChatGPT? This online artificial intelligence program has been available since November, but it’s just now starting to hit its stride outside the nerdiest of circles. Now that it has been proclaimed a game-changer among mainstream users such as physicians, accountants, and attorneys, there’s no reason veterinarians should not be using it, too. If you are a veterinarian it will help you with your everyday case-based research, continuing education, patient care, medical record-keeping, and client education. It can also assist with any job-related writing, such as letters or emails addressed to clients, insurance companies, specialists, etc. (In case you’d like a more complete introduction to using ChatGPT in clinical practice, check out my column in the July issue of Veterinary Practice News.) Yet, it’s not just for professionals. In your capacity as a common citizen, ChatGPT can help you write anythingquickly, find great recipes with limited ingredients (using only what is currently in your fridge, for example), plan your next vacation or your second wedding, find the perfect local restaurant, or your next favorite novel… and more. If you are like most people I have introduced to ChatGPT’s charms, at first you’ll probably assume it is too complicated to bother with…or suspect it is another casualty of the media’s tendency to overhype new tech. Alas, you’d be wrong. It truly is all that and more. So much more, in fact, that I’ve started to use it for all manner of practice management objectives, too. Hence, this column, in which I’ll detail its basic uses and a few practice management applications. Where to begin Located at chat.openAI.com, ChatGPT is the simplest kind of web-based tool you’ll ever use. There is nothing to install, requires no credit card number, and offers no barriers to entry save a one-time signup process that asks only for your name, email address, and a password. Once you’ve logged in, you’ll see an empty text box at the bottom of the page. Write in any question you can think of and be prepared to have your head explode. It is that coherent, complete, and articulate in its answers. Sure, there is a learning curve, but only with respect to optimizing the quality and style of your answers and learning what kinds of tasks (known as “prompts”) it can handle for you. In fact, anyone who knows how to use Google can expect a massively smarter, faster, more fluent expression of what they are searching for from the very first time they use it. ChatGPT works by sifting through everything accessible online and condensing all that knowledge into one coherent reply. (The current version includes everything online before October 2021.) It can offer said response as a summary, translation, essay, bullet point list, Shakespearean sonnet, or in any other format you’d like. Here are some common uses beyond mere information retrieval and creative formatting: Answering questions: Need explanations, definitions, summaries? Send it a URL, cut and paste any text or include the title of any book you’d like explained or summarized. Feel free to define the length, educational level, and format of the reply. Language translation: Just cut and paste any text then ask for it in any language and behold. Writing help: It will draft emails or letters from a list of bullet points, convert your hasty notes into a SOAP format, write full-on essays on any topic in any style (including your own), etc. Collaborative brainstorming: Shoot the crap with ChatGPT and develop ideas for your next novel’s plot or engage in ethical discussions. The sky is the limit here. Personal assistance: Organize your schedule, set reminders, plan a getaway, find a movie, or get general advice on everyday tasks, etc. Product recommendations: Need a new kitchen mixer? Ask it to find you one of a specific color with the features you need at the price you can afford, and it will have an answer in seconds. Fun conversation: Need a buddy to unwind with? Strike up a convo with ChatGPT on most any subject. To quote “The Breakfast Club,” it’s “Demented and sad …but social” (sort of). Tutoring: Use it as your study buddy. Practice a new language, request examples, have it devise practice questions, or use it to engage in conversation on complex topics you’re currently learning about. Veterinary applications beyond the clinical By now it should be obvious that ChatGPT has applications in veterinary practice that go well beyond what a typical clinician would need. As a practice owner, I’m just now starting to scratch the surface of these but here are a few examples (among many more uses I’ve put it to): Starting a new practice? Ask it to brainstorm the perfect business name, the pros and cons of renting vs. buying property, what questions to ask a landlord before leasing, how to find a good attorney to help you get started (and why you might need one), itemize a checklist of to-dos before opening, etc. Marketing help: Ask for suggestions for your practice’s website by cutting and pasting everything on your site. Request an ideal marketing budget for a practice your size and have it suggest a marketing mix (where to allocate your funds). Social media post-writing: Describe your image and let ChatGPT do its magic. Define the length and style of the verbiage and even ask it to suggest hashtags and recommend users to follow on Instagram (it will even describe the users for you). Blog posts: Need some new posts for your website? Ask ChatGPT to generate a blog post in less than 500 words on a specific topic. If you have examples of your own writing you can save that style and have ChatGPT write all your posts in your unique writing style. (Don’t worry—I definitely wrote this column by hand.) Equipment recommendations: We used ChatGPT to help us decide on a new therapeutic laser and a handheld ultrasound unit to complement our existing machine. We told it exactly what we needed it to do and had it offer suggestions. Once we had selected a couple versions of each, we asked it to list their pros and cons. Create your employee handbook: Ask for a list of sections to include, add some more as you see fit, flesh it out a bit, then ask it to put it together in a coherent way. Don’t like the one you currently have? Rewrite it using ChatGPT tools. Client education: There are so many ways in which ChatGPT can help you. I’ve used it to create all kinds of templates I include in the report cards I send after every visit or when reporting lab results. This way I don’t have to re-invent the wheel in writing whenever I spy a low T4 or high ALT or have to explain allergic dermatitis three times a day. Pitfalls and drawbacks Nothing’s perfect. Artificial intelligence will one day own us, but until it does it will only be as good as its creators and users. And god knows, we’re deeply flawed. With that in mind, here are some areas of concern to look out for when using ChatGPT: Topical and timely? Not so much: The new version of ChatGPT is only current through October of 2021. In other words, it can only derive info available online through that month. That does not sound like a big limitation until you want it to… generate a list of upcoming CE options in cardiology, include new devices in your list of equipment options, or be certain the social media users to follow in the above example are still posting to their accounts. Trust but verify: ChatGPT does not always get it right. For starters, user error is always possible. You might have phrased your prompt too vaguely or included a search term that led the program to focus on less-relevant information. Or maybe it interpreted your writing in a way you didn’t expect it to. Always trust that the program works but verify that it is giving you the information you expected it to. So please…always re-read what it’s written for you before including it in a medical record or sending it to a specialist, for example. Beware of over-reliance: As with any tool, relying overmuch on the responses ChatGPT gives you can have dangerous consequences. For example, if you are using it to completely replace a financial, accounting or legal professional, at some point you will get screwed. No one likes a lawsuit, audit or investment loss so always behave as if these are distinct possibilities when using ChatGPT in areas well outside your field of expertise. Patty Khuly, VMD, MBA, owns a small animal practice in Miami and is available at drpattykhuly.com. Columnists’ opinions do not necessarily reflect those of VPN Plus+.

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How ChatGPT technology will change your life

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