Clinical Outcomes and Overall Satisfaction of Patents Enrolled in an Artificial Intelligence-Powered Chatbot Following Periacetabular Osteotomy.

Background: The role of technology in the perioperative care of patients continues to grow. A surgeon-specific perioperative chatbot may improve the care of patients by answering questions or concerns. The purpose of this retrospective review was to assess if enrollment in a perioperative chatbot was associated with differences in clinical outcomes or patient satisfaction following periacetabular osteotomy.

Methods: We identified 62 patients who enrolled in a short message service (SMS) chatbot from December 1, 2020 to August 1, 2023. A consecutive historical cohort of 64 patients from August 1, 2018 to November 30, 2020 was identified for comparative purposes. Descriptive statistics were used to compare demographic differences between patients enrolled vs not enrolled in the chatbot. Independent t-tests, Fischer's exact tests, and chi-squared tests were also used for comparative purposes.

Results: Patients who were enrolled in a perioperative SMS-based chatbot requested significantly fewer narcotic refills ( = .0001). There were also significantly fewer clinic calls placed for patients enrolled in the chatbot compared to those not enrolled (1.1 calls vs 3.3 calls, < .0001). There were no significant differences in emergency department visits or readmissions within 90 days of surgery, reoperations, or infections. Patients enrolled in a perioperative chatbot had significantly higher satisfaction compared to those not enrolled (4.7 vs 4.3, = .039).

Conclusions: Enrollment in an SMS-based perioperative chatbot for patients undergoing periacetabular osteotomy was associated with fewer narcotic refills, fewer telephone calls to clinic, and increased patient satisfaction compared to a historical cohort not enrolled perioperative chatbot.