Preference, PatientNCT06832891
Patient Preferences in Empathetic Communication by AI vs Human Authorship
An observational study of Preference, Patient, run by Mayo Clinic at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study aims to evaluate whether patients have different preference patterns for empathetic communication through AI vs human-being when knowledge of authorship is known vs blinded. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Preference, Patient
- What is being tested?
- Survey
- How many people
- 202 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 21 Apr 2025to 30 Jun 2025
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Study population: Patients over the age of 18 being seen in palliative care clinic who have already established care and with diagnosis of any malignancy
Who may be able to join
- Patients over the age of 18 being seen in palliative care clinic who have already established care and with diagnosis of any malignancy
Who cannot join
- Inability to consent defined as: Acute mental status changes (delirium/encephalopathy), acute substance intoxication, intellectual disability, dementia, patient with active legal guardian
- Major psychiatric disorders including, but not limited to, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, active substance use disorder, and patients with active suicidal or homicidal thoughts.
- NOTE: Patients with history of normal grieving reactions, major unipolar depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder or generalized anxiety disorder would NOT be excluded.
- Inability to read in English
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota, 55905
About this study
Official title: A Survey of Patient Preferences on Empathetic Communication in Outpatient Palliative Care
This study aims to evaluate whether patients have different preference patterns for empathetic communication through AI vs human-being when knowledge of authorship is known vs blinded.
Read the detailed description
Hypothesis:
Patients will express increased preference for human-generated empathetic communication vs AI-generated empathetic communication when they are made aware of authorship vs when blinded to it.
Aims, purpose, or objectives:
Evaluate if patients have different preference patterns for empathetic communication through AI vs human-being when knowledge of authorship is known vs blinded
Background:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly gaining a foothold in the healthcare industry. AI's role in healthcare can largely be divided into two sets of tasks: Those which involve direct interaction with patients and those which do not. Many tasks which do not directly interact with patients, such as monitoring and resupplying medications, delivering goods across a hospital, and analyzing practice trends and outcomes are highly likely to benefit from the efficiency, cost-savings, and consistency AI can provide. Tasks involving direct patient interaction are considerably more controversial. Understanding of how patients will respond to AI communication remains quite limited which is concerning considering the rapid expansion of AI into the healthcare space. A logical first step to investigate is to see if patients react to AI communication when they are blinded to it vs when authorship is known. This concept has previously been tested in other industries such as business and the law, but patient communication preference in healthcare has been little studied, especially in palliative care. It is the aim of this study to investigate this.
- Conditions
- Preference, Patient
- Being tested
- Survey
- Keywords
- AI
- Medical subject headings
- Patient Preference
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
SurveyOther
Patients complete survey
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Survey Group - Blinded | Participants will be blinded to origin of survey statements Receives: Other: Survey | |
| Survey Group - Unblinded | Participants will be informed of origin of survey statements Receives: Other: Survey |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Preference patterns for empathetic communication
Assessed by a brief survey: patients will be show two brief empathetic statements related to their serious illness diagnosis (Cancer), one generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and one generated by a human physician in palliative care who were both given the same writing instructions and generated their responses independently. Half of the surveys will label which statement is generated by human or AI unblinded group) and the other half will be blinded to statement authorship. Preference will be compared between the blinded and unblinded groups.
Measured: Baseline
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted18 Feb 2025
- Study start21 Apr 2025
- Primary completion30 Jun 2025
- Study completion30 Jun 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Preference, PatientStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Mayo ClinicThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 202 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Mayo Clinic
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- April Christensen, MD, MS, Principal investigator, Mayo Clinic in Rochester
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06832891
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 24-010821
- Status last verified
- Aug 2025
- First submitted
- 13 Feb 2025
- Last updated
- 14 Aug 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 14 Aug 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Survey of Patient Preferences on Empathetic Communication in Outpatient Palliative Care
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06832891
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 24-010821
- Conditions
- Preference, Patient
- Keywords
- AI
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 202 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Mayo ClinicUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 21 Apr 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 18 Feb 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study aims to evaluate whether patients have different preference patterns for empathetic communication through AI vs human-being when knowledge of authorship is known vs blinded.
Detailed description
Hypothesis:
Patients will express increased preference for human-generated empathetic communication vs AI-generated empathetic communication when they are made aware of authorship vs when blinded to it.
Aims, purpose, or objectives:
Evaluate if patients have different preference patterns for empathetic communication through AI vs human-being when knowledge of authorship is known vs blinded
Background:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly gaining a foothold in the healthcare industry. AI's role in healthcare can largely be divided into two sets of tasks: Those which involve direct interaction with patients and those which do not. Many tasks which do not directly interact with patients, such as monitoring and resupplying medications, delivering goods across a hospital, and analyzing practice trends and outcomes are highly likely to benefit from the efficiency, cost-savings, and consistency AI can provide. Tasks involving direct patient interaction are considerably more controversial. Understanding of how patients will respond to AI communication remains quite limited which is concerning considering the rapid expansion of AI into the healthcare space. A logical first step to investigate is to see if patients react to AI communication when they are blinded to it vs when authorship is known. This concept has previously been tested in other industries such as business and the law, but patient communication preference in healthcare has been little studied, especially in palliative care. It is the aim of this study to investigate this.
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Survey Group - Blinded | – | Other: SurveyParticipants will be blinded to origin of survey statements |
| Survey Group - Unblinded | – | Other: SurveyParticipants will be informed of origin of survey statements |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- Patients over the age of 18 being seen in palliative care clinic who have already established care and with diagnosis of any malignancy
Key inclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Patients over the age of 18 being seen in palliative care clinic who have already established care and with diagnosis of any malignancy
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Inability to consent defined as: Acute mental status changes (delirium/encephalopathy), acute substance intoxication, intellectual disability, dementia, patient with active legal guardian
- Major psychiatric disorders including, but not limited to, bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, active substance use disorder, and patients with active suicidal or homicidal thoughts.
- Inability to read in English
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| SurveyPatients complete survey | Other | Survey Group - Blinded, Survey Group - Unblinded |
Primary outcome
Preference patterns for empathetic communication
Time frame: Baseline
Assessed by a brief survey: patients will be show two brief empathetic statements related to their serious illness diagnosis (Cancer), one generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and one generated by a human physician in palliative care who were both given the same writing instructions and generated their responses independently. Half of the surveys will label which statement is generated by human or AI unblinded group) and the other half will be blinded to statement authorship. Preference will be compared between the blinded and unblinded groups.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 14 Aug 2025.
- Mayo Clinic Clinical TrialsLink provided by the sponsor.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
April Christensen, MD, MS principal investigator
Mayo Clinic in Rochester
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Preference, Patient, run by Mayo Clinic at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 14 Aug 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Preference patterns for empathetic communication (time frame: Baseline). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 14 Aug 2025.