AI Standardized Patient Improves Human Conversations in Advanced Cancer Care

These are high-stakes conversations where clinicians must navigate weighty issues, where a poorly chosen word could have lasting consequences on a patient's final days and the memories their loved ones carry forward. Low-quality SIC has been associated with poor patient and family prognostic understanding [5], perceived lack of emotional support [6], lower quality healthcare outcomes and higher costs [7-13]. Communication with advanced-stage cancer patients specifically poses a variety of challenges, including: the volume and complexity of medical information, often fast-paced office visits, and the emotional burden of these life-changing conversations, for clinicians, patients, and their loved ones. Despite their extensive medical training, many physicians struggle to deliver difficult news effectively [14-16], often resulting in patient anxiety, misaligned treatment decisions, and reduced quality of care [17-19]. Also costly is the terms of expensive and potentially burdensome treatments as well as malpractice claims[20].