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August 23, 2026Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and LearningOpen Access

Voice-interactive virtual simulated patients as a complement to standardized patient training in pharmacy education: A pilot evaluation

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Authors

YHYasuhiko HashimotoCSChika Suzuki

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Overview

Cross-sectional pilot study demonstrates high satisfaction with AI-powered virtual simulated patients among pharmacy students, suggesting utility as a complement to traditional training.

Key Points

  • Evaluate the usability and perceived educational value of a generative AI-powered, voice-interactive virtual simulated patient (VSP) system as a complement to standardized patient (SP) training for pharmacy students.
  • Conducted a single-center, cross-sectional pilot evaluation among N=62 fourth- and fifth-year pharmacy students who previously completed SP training.
  • Students interacted with two psychiatric scenarios (community depression counseling and inpatient bipolar disorder) via a WebView-based VSP on personal devices.
  • Administered a 12-item Likert questionnaire and evaluated open-ended feedback using conventional content analysis.
  • Overall satisfaction with the VSP system reached 87.1% (54/62).
  • Most students judged traditional SP training as more effective (59.6%, 37/62), while 22.6% (14/62) rated them equally effective and 17.8% (11/62) favored the VSP.
  • A majority (82.3%, 51/62) considered the VSP a suitable supplement, with voice recognition accuracy cited most frequently as an area for improvement (61.3%, 38/62).

Cite This Study

Hashimoto et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a8aad417677a34114445714https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cptl.2026.102774
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