Using Chat GPT and Artificial Intelligence AI in Pediatric Occupational Therapy Practice

Michele's Opinion on using Chat GPT in Pediatric OT Practice

As a writer of blog posts and courses for pediatric occupational therapists, I often encounter challenges such as writer's block and organization issues. To overcome these hurdles, Chat GPT and artificial intelligence AI have proven to be incredibly useful tools. I believe occupational therapists can also leverage the power of Chat GPT in their daily practice.

Additionally, Chat GPT offers prompts such as “rewrite”, “outline”, and “ideas for” that can be especially helpful for OTs seeking to enhance their productivity and efficiency.

While AI should never replace human interaction and clinical judgment, incorporating Chat GPT into practice can be a valuable asset for therapists looking to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

Have you tried using Chat GPT? Let me know your thoughts below!

The Benefits and Ethical Considerations of Using Chat GPT in Pediatric Occupational Therapy Practice

This blog post was produced 100% by inputing relevant information into Chat GPT. The outputs were organized into sections, but the content was not modified.

Chat GPT, or Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a language model created by OpenAI that can generate human-like responses to text prompts. Essentially, it can take in text input and generate a coherent response that seems like it was written by a human.

For pediatric occupational therapists, Chat GPT can be a valuable tool for generating ideas, prompts, and therapeutic activities that can be tailored to individual clients. By inputting information about a child's specific needs, goals, and interests, the model can generate relevant and creative ideas that the therapist can then use in therapy sessions.

Moreover, Chat GPT can also assist in generating documentation, such as progress notes and treatment plans, by providing language suggestions and helping therapists to articulate their ideas in a clear and concise manner. This can save time and reduce the burden of documentation, allowing therapists to focus more on their clients and their interventions.

Overall, Chat GPT can be a powerful tool for pediatric occupational therapists looking to enhance their practice and provide better outcomes for their clients. By leveraging the model's natural language generation capabilities, therapists can tap into a wealth of ideas and resources to improve the quality and efficiency of their therapy sessions.

Benefits of using Chat GPT in pediatric OT practice

Time-saving

One of the most significant benefits of using Chat GPT in pediatric occupational therapy practice is the time-saving aspect. With the help of Chat GPT, occupational therapists can quickly generate documentation, including progress notes, evaluations, and treatment plans, which would otherwise take a considerable amount of time to prepare. The quick turnaround time allows therapists to focus more on delivering quality therapy services to their clients, improving patient outcomes and satisfaction.

Increased efficiency

Chat GPT can help reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks, such as writing reports, updating documentation, or scheduling appointments. The time saved can be utilized for more valuable tasks such as direct client care, consultations, and research. With the assistance of Chat GPT, pediatric occupational therapists can streamline their workflow and improve their overall efficiency, ultimately leading to a more productive and fulfilling workday.

Enhancing treatment planning

Pediatric occupational therapists can use Chat GPT to generate new ideas and perspectives on treatment planning. Chat GPT can offer a range of suggestions and therapeutic activities to incorporate into treatment plans, helping therapists to provide more varied and engaging therapy sessions for their clients. This can be especially beneficial for children who may struggle with engagement or have limited interest in certain activities. Additionally, Chat GPT can assist with developing treatment plans that are tailored to individual client's needs and preferences, helping to achieve more positive outcomes in therapy.

Examples of Chat GPT use in pediatric OT practice

Chat GPT can be used in a variety of ways to support the work of pediatric occupational therapists. Here are some examples:

Documentation and note-writing

One of the biggest challenges for pediatric OTs is the time-consuming task of writing detailed session notes. Chat GPT can be a helpful tool to speed up this process by providing suggestions and templates for documentation. For example, a therapist can input some basic information about a session, such as the activities they worked on and the child's response, and Chat GPT can generate a draft of the session note that the therapist can edit and refine as needed.

Activity and intervention planning

Chat GPT can also be used to generate ideas for therapy activities and interventions. For example, if a therapist is working on improving a child's fine motor skills, they can input some basic information about the child's current abilities and interests, and Chat GPT can suggest activities and games that are appropriate and engaging for the child. This can help therapists save time and come up with new and creative ideas for therapy sessions.

Professional development and education

Chat GPT can also be used as a tool for ongoing professional development and education. Therapists can use Chat GPT to access up-to-date information on best practices and new research in the field of pediatric OT. They can also use it to connect with other therapists and professionals, share resources and information, and collaborate on projects and initiatives.

Overall, Chat GPT can be a valuable tool for pediatric OTs to streamline their workflow, save time, and enhance their practice. As with any technology or tool, it's important for therapists to use Chat GPT in a thoughtful and intentional way that supports their clinical judgment and best practices.

Ethical considerations

As with any technology used in healthcare, there are important ethical considerations to keep in mind when using Chat GPT in pediatric OT practice. One of the most significant ethical considerations is confidentiality and data security. It is crucial to ensure that all patient information is kept secure and confidential, especially when using a machine learning tool that collects and analyzes large amounts of data.

Pediatric OTs must take all necessary precautions to protect patient privacy and data security. This includes ensuring that all patient data is encrypted and securely stored in compliance with HIPAA regulations. Additionally, OTs must ensure that patient consent has been obtained before using their data for any research or analysis purposes.

Another ethical consideration related to the use of AI in pediatric OT practice is the potential for bias. Machine learning algorithms are only as unbiased as the data that is fed into them. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the data used to train Chat GPT is diverse and representative of the population being served. Pediatric OTs must be aware of any biases that may exist in the data and take steps to mitigate these biases.

Lastly, it is important to consider the potential impact of AI on the occupational therapy profession. While Chat GPT can certainly enhance the work of pediatric OTs, it is important to ensure that the tool is used as a complement to, rather than a replacement for, the clinical expertise and judgment of the therapist. Pediatric OTs must remain vigilant and ensure that the use of Chat GPT does not compromise the quality of care or the therapeutic relationship with their patients.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Chat GPT has the potential to revolutionize pediatric occupational therapy practice by offering a range of benefits, including time-saving, increased efficiency, and enhanced treatment planning. With its ability to generate creative ideas for therapy activities, it can help OTs to expand their options for treatment and improve outcomes for their clients. However, it is important to be aware of ethical considerations, such as confidentiality and data security, when using AI in practice. By understanding the benefits and ethical considerations, pediatric OTs can confidently explore the use of Chat GPT in their practice to improve the quality and efficiency of their services.

SOAP Note Example from Chat GPT

The Virtual Pediatric OT Input

Write a SOAP note for a child who has the goal “to increase self-feeding abilities, Anna will pick up and eat cheerios with a pincer grasp, 80% of the time observed. OT session worked on improving her pincer grasp through toys such as small objects in an ice cube tray.

Chat GPT Output

Subjective: Anna came in today with her mother and reported feeling excited to work on her self-feeding goals. Her mother reported that Anna has been struggling with using a pincer grasp to pick up small objects like Cheerios, but has been practicing at home with supervision.

Objective: During today's session, Anna and I worked on improving her pincer grasp by playing with small objects in an ice cube tray. She demonstrated difficulty with isolating her index finger to pick up small items, but with encouragement and demonstration, she was able to improve her grasp and pick up Cheerios with a pincer grasp. Anna was able to pick up and eat Cheerios with a pincer grasp 80% of the time during the session.

Assessment: Anna demonstrated progress towards her goal of increasing self-feeding abilities with a pincer grasp. She has shown improvement in isolating her index finger and is better able to pick up small objects. It is recommended that Anna continues to practice at home to reinforce the skills learned in therapy.

Plan: Next session, Anna and I will continue to work on improving her pincer grasp by practicing with small objects and Cheerios. I will provide her mother with education on home activities to reinforce skills learned in therapy.

Michele's Opinion on the SOAP Note Above

Chat GPT did a pretty good job! However, this was at the end of a “chat” where I had inputted into Chat GPT a lot of my SOAP notes course so it was familiar with my format and expectations for each section. Chat GPT also writes in sentences and our medical notes are allowed to be fragmented. In addition, the note is wordy, and can be shortened and simplified. Not everything is exactly where it belongs and it definitely lacks clinical reasoning insight.