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A study from researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful educational tool that can help patients feel prepared and supported before and after total joint arthroplasty.

The study findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.

Custom-Tailored AI Platform

The researchers piloted and evaluated a custom-tailored AI (CTAI) platform that was trained on patient education content developed and approved by HSS surgeons. They found that patients were able to easily access and interact with the chat bot, which provided on-demand, personalized, accurate information about their surgery.

“Our study showed that most patients found the technology easy to use and helpful in making them feel ready and confident going into surgery,” said Eytan M Debbi, MD, PhD, a hip and knee arthroplasty surgeon at HSS and senior study author.

HSS investigators partnered with Aidify to develop the CTAI agent to address patient questions related to total joint arthroplasty procedures. Orthopedic surgeons at HSS trained the chat bot with their specific surgical protocols so that patients could receive personalized content that reflects their expertise.

High Marks from Patients

Patients undergoing orthopedic procedures frequently face confusion and anxiety before surgery and are often dissatisfied with printed educational materials that can be hard to understand and not tailored to their needs. However, patients in the study gave Aidify high marks for responses that were useful, understandable, and complete.

“This platform can provide round-the-clock access to reliable, doctor-specific guidance and reduced the risk of getting inaccurate or irrelevant information from other general-purpose tools like Google or Chat GPT,” said Karlos Zepeda, DO, clinical research coordinator at HSS and lead study author.

The study included 40 patients scheduled to undergo total joint arthroplasty at HSS. Among the 32 patients who used the chat bot, about 85% said they understood the responses to their questions and 75% reported that it helped them feel well prepared for surgery. More than 80% of patients stated they would recommend the platform to others.

“I think patients get a lot of comfort knowing they have access to the chat bot because it gives them the sense that they can always be in contact with our office and get their questions answered whenever they need it,” Dr. Debbi said.

Improving Health Literacy

The CTAI tool addressed a wide range of questions that focused mostly on concerns leading up to surgery and on recovery, including:

• Activity guidelines
• Medications
• What to expect after surgery
• Dietary guidance
• Pain management
• Wound care
• Potential complications

The bulk of patients’ questions came in before surgery, while the number and frequency of questions diminished after surgery.

“Our findings show that CTAI improves patients’ health literacy, which enables more understanding, confidence, and preparedness before surgery,” Dr. Zepeda said. “This directly impacts patients’ overall satisfaction and care experience.”

Unexpected Finding

The most unexpected finding, according to the authors, was the number of study participants who were able to access and navigate the platform. Most people who undergo total joint arthroplasty are over the age of 55, so there was a concern that older patients in the study might have some difficulty using AI technology.

“I was surprised that older patients were able to deal with the technology as easily as they did and be as satisfied as they were with it,” Dr. Debbi said.

Some patients, in fact, preferred interacting with the chat bot over their surgeon.

“Surgeons cannot be available to patients 24 hours a day, but AI can review things with multiple patients at a time, whenever and as many times as they want without physician burnout, so that’s a huge benefit,” Dr. Debbi said.

The study authors agree that their findings support continued refinement of CTAI as a tool to improve the delivery of patient education and care at HSS, but more research is needed to expand its use. For example, the technology does not currently have access to specific patient information.

“Only when we are confident in the technology and that patient information is secure will we enable AI to fully interact with patients’ electronic medical record and integrate it as standard of care at HSS,” Dr. Debbi said.

“The potential of CTAI is unlimited. The sky’s the limit and we’re just scratching the surface right now.”

Source

Zepeda K, Burgio C, Yared T, Vachhani S, Bloom E, Ast MP, Mayman DJ, Vigdorchik JM, Debbi EM. Assessing the Utility & Acceptability of an AI-Powered Preoperative Joint Replacement Care Aid (Poster 13-2025). Presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, October 23-26, 2025, in Dallas, Texas.