A Real-World Evaluation of Large Language Model–Generated Hospital Courses in Pediatrics
BACKGROUND Large language model (LLM)–generated hospital courses are increasingly integrated into electronic health records (EHRs), yet their accuracy and safety in pediatric populations remain poorly characterized. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy, text quality, and perceived potential harm of EHR-integrated and LLM-generated hospital courses in pediatric inpatient care during early clinical implementation. METHODS We conducted a descriptive evaluation from June 10 to August 8, 2025, at an academic freestanding children’s hospital using an Epic EHR with an integrated LLM tool (GPT-4o and GPT-4.1). Clinicians across multiple roles, including attending physicians, residents, and advanced practice providers, reviewed LLM-generated hospital courses for their own patients. Clinicians identified and categorized errors (hallucinations, inaccuracies, or omissions). They also rated text quality (comprehensiveness, conciseness, coherence) on a 5-point scale and perceived harm on an 8-point scale. RESULTS A total of 129 LLM-generated hospital courses were reviewed (median length of stay, 3 days; IQR, 2–7) by 50 involved clinicians. Hallucinations occurred in 21% (95% CI, 14%-29%) of the hospital courses, inaccuracies in 41% (53/129; 95% CI, 33%-50%), and omissions in 24% (31/129; 95% CI, 17%-32%). Overall, perceived harm ratings were low (median, 0; IQR, 0–1). Text quality ratings were high (median [IQR]: comprehensiveness, 4 [3–5]; conciseness, 4 [4–5]; coherence, 4 [4–5]) and comparable with prior literature. CONCLUSION In this pediatric evaluation of LLM-generated hospital courses reviewed by frontline clinicians, errors were common, but perceived potential harm was low, even assuming use without clinician correction. These findings support the use of LLM-generated hospital courses as starting drafts when paired with clinician review and institutional safeguards.