ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 dermatological knowledge level based on the Specialty Certificate Examination in Dermatology

Background The global use of artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry. Despite the fact that AI is becoming more popular, there is still a lack of evidence on its use in dermatology.Objectives To determine the capacity of ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 to support dermatology knowledge and clinical decision-making in medical practice.Methods Three Specialty Certificate Examination in Dermatology tests, in English and Polish, consisting of 120 single-best-answer, multiple-choice questions each, were used to assess the performance of ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4.Results ChatGPT-4 exceeded the 60% pass rate in every performed test, with a minimum of 80% and 70% correct answers for the English and Polish versions, respectively. ChatGPT-4 performed significantly better on each exam (P < 0.01), regardless of language, compared with ChatGPT-3.5. Furthermore, ChatGPT-4 answered clinical picture-type questions with an average accuracy of 93.0% and 84.2% for questions in English and Polish, respectively. The difference between the tests in Polish and English were not significant; however, ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 performed better overall in English than in Polish by an average of 8 percentage points for each test. Incorrect ChatGPT answers were highly correlated with a lower difficulty index, denoting questions of higher difficulty in most of the tests (P < 0.05).Conclusions The dermatology knowledge level of ChatGPT was high, and ChatGPT-4 performed significantly better than ChatGPT-3.5. Although the use of ChatGPT will not replace a doctor's final decision, physicians should support the development of AI in dermatology to raise the standards of medical care.

Automated summary

The study evaluated the performance of ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 in dermatology knowledge and clinical decision-making. ChatGPT-4 outperformed ChatGPT-3.5 in all tests, with a higher pass rate and accuracy. Although AI cannot replace medical professionals, its development in dermatology can contribute to improving healthcare standards.