ChatGPT has been increasingly utilized to create, simplify, and revise hand surgery patient education materials. While significant research has examined the quality and readability of ChatGPT-derived hand surgery patient education, the patient perspective has not previously been evaluated. This study compared patient reported clarity and readability grades as well as patient preferences for carpal tunnel surgery educational information from medical education websites and ChatGPT.

Patients without a history of carpal tunnel release surgery at two orthopaedic hand surgery outpatient clinics were asked to complete an anonymous survey which gathered demographic information and included a blinded educational passage on carpal tunnel release surgery from ChatGPT, WebMD, or Mayo Clinic. Patients graded the blinded passages regarding clarity, readability, length, likeliness to recommend to others, and overall satisfaction with the education material.

There were no significant differences in clarity (p = 0.682),readability (p = 0.328), or likeliness to recommend to others (p = 0.106) between the different educational sources. When stratified by age, younger patients (under 55) were more likely to recommend Mayo Clinic over other resources (p = 0.002). When further stratified to include only those who reported previously using websites for healthcare information, patients tended to have a higher likelihood of recommending Mayo Clinic compared to other sources, but this was not a statistically significant difference.

There were no differences in clarity, readability, or preference ratings between patient education materials that were produced by ChatGPT, WebMD and Mayo Clinic. However, while ChatGPT-generated materials are comparable in quality based on patient ratings, younger patients may still favor well-established sources for medical education. This information regarding patient preferences provides valuable insights for hand surgeons when selecting suitable educational resources for their patients.