The role of personalized AI communication styles in reducing diagnostic errors and cognitive workload among clinicians at varying expertise levels in breast imaging diagnosis

Healthcare providers in the United States often face challenges in giving quick and correct breast cancer diagnoses. Breast imaging requires doctors to quickly understand medical images, which can change patient care a lot. Recent research shows that artificial intelligence (AI) that talks to clinicians in a way that fits their needs helps reduce mistakes and makes their work easier. This helps doctors and medical staff work better and faster.

This article looks at how AI communication helps doctors with different experience levels. It also talks about how AI can be part of hospital systems to improve care.

Personalized AI Communication and Breast Imaging Diagnosis

Diagnosing breast cancer is a hard job and doctors use technology to help. Doctors have different levels of experience, such as interns, juniors, mid-level, and senior doctors. AI systems must talk to each doctor in a way that matches their skill level to be useful.

A study with 52 doctors tested two AI styles: normal AI communication and assertiveness-based AI. Assertiveness-based AI changes how it talks depending on the doctor’s experience. It can be more direct or more suggestive.

Diagnostic Time Reduction

The study found that personalized AI helped doctors finish diagnoses faster. For interns and juniors, it reduced time by about 1.38 times, and for mid-level and senior doctors, it was 1.37 times faster. This is important because busy hospitals and clinics need to save time so doctors can see more patients or spend more time on tough cases.

Impact on Diagnostic Errors

Making mistakes during diagnosis can harm patients. The study showed that less experienced doctors made 39.2% fewer errors when using a more direct AI. This clear guidance helped these doctors feel more confident and make better choices.

For more experienced doctors, a suggestive AI style cut errors by 5.5%. These doctors like AI to give advice without ordering them, which builds trust and respects their knowledge.

Preferences and Trust

Doctors liked AI that adjusted how it talked based on their experience. They preferred detailed explanations instead of just numbers because it helped them understand better. Trust in AI is important, especially in serious fields like breast imaging. When AI talks in a way suited for the user, doctors feel less tired and more confident. This means better care for patients.

Implications for Healthcare Organizations in the United States

Hospital leaders, practice owners, and IT managers in the U.S. should see the value of AI that changes how it talks depending on the doctor’s skill. Health systems with doctors of different experience levels need tools that help everyone improve accuracy and work faster.

The study by Francisco Maria Calisto and others gives data to help leaders decide on AI technology. Using AI that adapts to expertise can lower errors, cut diagnosis time, and make work smoother.

This helps hospitals handle the pressure to find breast cancer earlier, meet quality standards, and avoid legal risks from mistakes. It also helps doctors by reducing mental tiredness, which can lead to burnout in busy departments.

AI Communication Styles: Matching Expertise Levels with Support Needs

  • Authoritative AI agents: These give clear and direct advice and work better for less experienced doctors who need more guidance.
  • Suggestive AI agents: These offer gentle recommendations. Mid-level and senior doctors prefer this style as they trust their own knowledge but still want a second opinion.

Managers should think about these differences when choosing AI tools. They should pick AI that can change how it talks, not just give simple results but engage doctors in a helpful way depending on their needs.

AI and Workflow Integration: Enhancing Breast Imaging Diagnosis Efficiency

Automated Case Triage and Prioritization

AI can quickly look at many images and mark cases that need attention. It can give strong alerts to less experienced staff to reduce mistakes and softer alerts to experienced doctors so they are not overwhelmed.

Streamlining Front-Office and Back-Office Tasks

Simbo AI is an example that helps with phone calls and scheduling using AI. This supports medical staff by handling tasks like appointments and follow-ups without adding to doctors’ workloads.

By managing calls automatically, AI helps the administrative teams focus on patient care instead of dealing with many phone calls during busy times.

Real-Time Decision Support

Personalized AI can guide doctors during diagnosis in real time. It balances being direct or suggestive depending on what the doctor needs at the time. This helps keep accuracy high even when doctors face many cases or complex findings.

Reducing Cognitive Workload

AI that fits the doctor’s experience reduces mental stress. Interns and juniors get clear instructions that help them decide. Experienced doctors get detailed explanations that respect their knowledge without interrupting their thoughts. This supports doctors’ well-being, which is very important because high workloads can cause burnout.

Training, Adoption, and Continuous Improvement

Hospitals that use personalized AI should train doctors on how to work with the system well. Knowing that AI changes its style based on experience helps doctors feel more comfortable and trust the tool.

It is also important to keep collecting data to improve how AI communicates. Feedback from doctors and changes in medical rules should guide this process.

Hospitals can use research data and open source code from studies like Calisto’s to build AI systems suited to their needs. This helps IT managers compare options and customize AI tools.

Summary of Key Research Findings for Implementers

  • Personalized AI reduces diagnosis time by about 1.38 times for less experienced doctors and 1.37 times for more experienced ones.
  • Interns and juniors make 39.2% fewer mistakes with direct AI, while mid-level and senior doctors reduce errors by 5.5% with suggestive AI.
  • Doctors prefer AI that uses clear explanations instead of just numbers, which builds trust.
  • Personalized communication lowers mental workload, helping faster and better diagnoses in serious situations.

The U.S. Healthcare Context: Why Personalized AI Matters

Breast cancer is a leading cause of illness and death among women in the U.S. The number of breast imaging tests is growing, but many places do not have enough experienced radiologists. This causes delays in diagnosis. Clinics often have doctors with different experience levels. Using the same AI style for everyone is not as helpful.

Personalized AI fits well with these changing staff groups and the need to reduce mistakes under health rules.

The U.S. system encourages hospitals to improve care quality and lower errors. AI that improves workflows and accuracy without risking safety is important to reach these goals.

Final Considerations for Healthcare Decision Makers

Medical leaders and IT managers should understand that doctors have different communication needs. Choosing AI systems that adapt helps improve diagnosis, patient safety, and doctor satisfaction.

Combining AI tools for front-office tasks, like those from Simbo AI, with diagnostic support can reduce stress for all team members. This makes hospitals run better and keeps patients involved in their care.

As breast imaging departments get busier, AI that talks to each doctor in the right way offers a way to improve results, keep care safe, and make work easier across healthcare in the U.S.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the focus of the research on personalized AI communication in breast cancer diagnosis?

The research focuses on how personalized AI communication styles affect diagnostic performance, workload, and trust among clinicians during breast imaging diagnosis, emphasizing the adaptation of communication based on clinicians’ expertise levels.

How does personalized AI communication impact diagnostic time for clinicians of different expertise levels?

Personalized AI communication reduces diagnostic time by a factor of 1.38 for interns and juniors, and by a factor of 1.37 for middle and senior clinicians, demonstrating significant efficiency improvements without compromising accuracy.

What effect does a more authoritative AI agent have on less experienced clinicians?

Interns and juniors reduce their diagnostic errors by 39.2% when interacting with a more authoritative AI agent, indicating that assertive communication enhances their decision-making and confidence.

How do middle and senior clinicians respond to different AI communication styles?

Middle and senior clinicians achieved a 5.5% reduction in diagnostic errors when interacting with a more suggestive AI agent, showing preference for nuanced, less authoritative communication that respects their expertise.

Why do clinicians prefer assertiveness-based AI agents?

Clinicians value assertiveness-based AI agents for their clarity and competence, appreciating detailed and contextual explanations over simple numerical outputs, which helps build trust and supports better clinical decisions.

What are the considerations for designing AI communication in high-stakes clinical settings?

AI systems should provide adaptable communication to match clinicians’ expertise, balance assertiveness and suggestiveness, reduce cognitive load, maintain accuracy, and build trust to effectively integrate into clinical workflows.

How does personalized AI communication influence cognitive workload?

Personalized AI communication reduces cognitive load by tailoring explanations to the clinician’s experience level, making information processing more efficient and less mentally taxing during diagnosis.

What contributions does this research offer to the Human–Computer Interaction community?

This research advances understanding of AI-mediated clinical support by demonstrating the benefits of adaptable AI communication styles in improving trust, reducing workload, and enhancing diagnostic performance in healthcare.

What methodology was used to evaluate the impact of personalized AI communication?

The study engaged 52 clinicians across multiple expertise levels (interns, juniors, middles, seniors) who diagnosed breast imaging cases using conventional and assertiveness-based AI communication, measuring diagnostic time, errors, and preferences.

Are the research data and code available for further study?

Yes, the data and code are publicly available on GitHub at https://github.com/MIMBCD-UI/sa-uta11-results, facilitating transparency and enabling further research in this domain.