Artificial intelligence in family medicine: a scoping review

Background.The use of artificial intelligence in various educational, health, managerial and clinical dimensions of the healthcare system is accelerating at an astonishing speed.Objectives.The objective of this study is a scoping review of artificial intelligence in family medicine practice.Material and methods.In order to conduct this scoping review, we used the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework updated by Levac et al.Using relevant keywords, we searched studies published in English from 2000 to 2023 in three databases: Google Scholar, PubMed and Scopus.After fulfilling the search and partitioning process of all studies in EndNote.X4.v14 software, duplicate studies were removed.In the next steps, screening of studies based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, reviewing and assessing the abstract of the studies and assessing the full text of the remaining studies were then performed, and 68 articles and studies were finally included in the research process.Results.The findings of this research were presented on two levels, descriptive and quantitative, as well as a thematic review.In the thematic review, the results were presented according to four research questions: applications of AI, challenges, risks and advantages of AI, orientation and implications of AI (theoretical and practical) and how to improve family medicine practice using artificial intelligence.Conclusions.Although AI has advantages for the practice of family medicine, it also brings challenges and risks.Therefore, policymakers and researchers should improve the practice of family medicine by controlling and managing the challenges and risks of AI and strengthening its benefits.