Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundProfessional medical organizations publish policy statements that are used to impact legislation or address societal issues. Many organizations are nonpartisan, yet it is uncertain whether their policy statements balance liberal and conservative values....

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Main Authors: Ben Knudsen, Amr Madkour, Preetam Cholli, Alyson Haslam, Vinay Prasad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-06-01
Series:JMIR Formative Research
Online Access:https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e66204
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author Ben Knudsen
Amr Madkour
Preetam Cholli
Alyson Haslam
Vinay Prasad
author_facet Ben Knudsen
Amr Madkour
Preetam Cholli
Alyson Haslam
Vinay Prasad
author_sort Ben Knudsen
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundProfessional medical organizations publish policy statements that are used to impact legislation or address societal issues. Many organizations are nonpartisan, yet it is uncertain whether their policy statements balance liberal and conservative values. ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the political viewpoint of policy statements from 6 influential medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Surgeons, American Psychiatric Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, and American Academy of Family Physicians. MethodsBetween December 2023 and February 2024, policy statements from the 6 organizations were identified and evaluated using ChatGPT with GPT-4 to reduce bias. Each statement was pasted into a new ChatGPT session following the phrase “Does this text align with a liberal or conservative viewpoint?” Two authors reviewed each response and categorized the statement as liberal, probably liberal, neutral, probably conservative, or conservative. ResultsOne-third of policy statements (529/1592, 33.2%) were found to be aligned with a political ideology. Among these 529 statements, 516 (97.5%) were liberal or probably liberal and 13 (2.5%) were conservative or probably conservative. For each organization, among policy statements with a political leaning, the percentage of liberal or probably liberal statements was as follows: 100% (69/69) for the American Academy of Pediatrics, 100% (24/24) for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 100% (12/12) for the American College of Surgeons, 99% (72/73) for the American Psychiatric Association, 97% (174/180) for the American Academy of Family Physicians, and 96% (165/171) for the American College of Physicians. ConclusionsOne in 3 policy statements from these 6 professional organizations align with a partisan political viewpoint. Among these, positions are 40 times more likely to be liberal or probably liberal than conservative or probably conservative. Whether or not organizations are politically neutral and seek viewpoint diversity warrants further exploration.
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spelling doaj-art-e13ca9e3b63d41e68a3dab4cda0da4dc2025-08-20T02:39:37ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Formative Research2561-326X2025-06-019e6620410.2196/66204Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional StudyBen Knudsenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9709-3076Amr Madkourhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4597-8710Preetam Chollihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9661-9550Alyson Haslamhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7876-3978Vinay Prasadhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6110-8221 BackgroundProfessional medical organizations publish policy statements that are used to impact legislation or address societal issues. Many organizations are nonpartisan, yet it is uncertain whether their policy statements balance liberal and conservative values. ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the political viewpoint of policy statements from 6 influential medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Surgeons, American Psychiatric Association, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, and American Academy of Family Physicians. MethodsBetween December 2023 and February 2024, policy statements from the 6 organizations were identified and evaluated using ChatGPT with GPT-4 to reduce bias. Each statement was pasted into a new ChatGPT session following the phrase “Does this text align with a liberal or conservative viewpoint?” Two authors reviewed each response and categorized the statement as liberal, probably liberal, neutral, probably conservative, or conservative. ResultsOne-third of policy statements (529/1592, 33.2%) were found to be aligned with a political ideology. Among these 529 statements, 516 (97.5%) were liberal or probably liberal and 13 (2.5%) were conservative or probably conservative. For each organization, among policy statements with a political leaning, the percentage of liberal or probably liberal statements was as follows: 100% (69/69) for the American Academy of Pediatrics, 100% (24/24) for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 100% (12/12) for the American College of Surgeons, 99% (72/73) for the American Psychiatric Association, 97% (174/180) for the American Academy of Family Physicians, and 96% (165/171) for the American College of Physicians. ConclusionsOne in 3 policy statements from these 6 professional organizations align with a partisan political viewpoint. Among these, positions are 40 times more likely to be liberal or probably liberal than conservative or probably conservative. Whether or not organizations are politically neutral and seek viewpoint diversity warrants further exploration.https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e66204
spellingShingle Ben Knudsen
Amr Madkour
Preetam Cholli
Alyson Haslam
Vinay Prasad
Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional Study
JMIR Formative Research
title Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Analysis of the Political Viewpoint of Policy Statements From Professional Medical Organizations Using ChatGPT With GPT-4: Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort analysis of the political viewpoint of policy statements from professional medical organizations using chatgpt with gpt 4 cross sectional study
url https://formative.jmir.org/2025/1/e66204
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