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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">JMIR</journal-id>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">J Med Internet Res</journal-id>
      <journal-title>Journal of Medical Internet Research</journal-title>
      <issn pub-type="epub">1438-8871</issn>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>JMIR Publications</publisher-name>
        <publisher-loc>Toronto, Canada</publisher-loc>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">v27i1e70657</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="pmid">39964744</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.2196/70657</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Letter to the Editor</subject>
        </subj-group>
        <subj-group subj-group-type="article-type">
          <subject>Letter to the Editor</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title>Enhancing the Clinical Relevance of Al Research for Medication Decision-Making</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib contrib-type="editor">
          <name>
            <surname>Leung</surname>
            <given-names>Tiffany</given-names>
          </name>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <contrib-group>
        <contrib id="contrib1" contrib-type="author">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Wang</surname>
            <given-names>Qi</given-names>
          </name>
          <degrees>MS</degrees>
          <xref rid="aff1" ref-type="aff">1</xref>
          <xref rid="aff2" ref-type="aff">2</xref>
          <ext-link ext-link-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6707-6613</ext-link>
        </contrib>
        <contrib id="contrib2" contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
          <name name-style="western">
            <surname>Chen</surname>
            <given-names>Mingxian</given-names>
          </name>
          <degrees>MD, PhD</degrees>
          <xref rid="aff3" ref-type="aff">3</xref>
          <address>
            <institution>Department of Gastroenterology</institution>
            <institution>Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province</institution>
            <addr-line>234 Gucui Street</addr-line>
            <addr-line>Xihu Region</addr-line>
            <addr-line>Hangzhou, 310012</addr-line>
            <country>China</country>
            <phone>86 151 576 82797</phone>
            <email>chenmingxian2005@126.com</email>
          </address>
          <ext-link ext-link-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2944-6850</ext-link>
        </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <aff id="aff1">
        <label>1</label>
        <institution>Zhejiang Chinese Medical University</institution>
        <addr-line>Hangzhou</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="aff2">
        <label>2</label>
        <institution>Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Luqiao District</institution>
        <addr-line>Taizhou</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <aff id="aff3">
        <label>3</label>
        <institution>Department of Gastroenterology</institution>
        <institution>Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province</institution>
        <addr-line>Hangzhou</addr-line>
        <country>China</country>
      </aff>
      <author-notes>
        <corresp>Corresponding Author: Mingxian Chen <email>chenmingxian2005@126.com</email></corresp>
      </author-notes>
      <pub-date pub-type="collection">
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <pub-date pub-type="epub">
        <day>18</day>
        <month>2</month>
        <year>2025</year>
      </pub-date>
      <volume>27</volume>
      <elocation-id>e70657</elocation-id>
      <history>
        <date date-type="received">
          <day>29</day>
          <month>12</month>
          <year>2024</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="rev-request">
          <day>8</day>
          <month>1</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="rev-recd">
          <day>20</day>
          <month>1</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
        <date date-type="accepted">
          <day>6</day>
          <month>2</month>
          <year>2025</year>
        </date>
      </history>
      <copyright-statement>©Qi Wang, Mingxian Chen. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 18.02.2025.</copyright-statement>
      <copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
      <license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
        <p>This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (ISSN 1438-8871), is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.</p>
      </license>
      <self-uri xlink:href="https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e70657" xlink:type="simple"/>
      <related-article related-article-type="commentary-article" id="v26i1e60794" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.2196/60794" vol="26" page="e60794" xlink:type="simple">https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e60794/</related-article>
      <related-article related-article-type="commentary" id="v27i1e72007" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.2196/72007" vol="27" page="e72007" xlink:type="simple">https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e72007/</related-article>
      <kwd-group>
        <kwd>older adults</kwd>
        <kwd>artificial intelligence</kwd>
        <kwd>medication</kwd>
        <kwd>decision-making</kwd>
        <kwd>data security</kwd>
        <kwd>patient trust</kwd>
      </kwd-group>
    </article-meta>
  </front>
  <body>
    <p>We are writing to provide comments on the manuscript titled “Investigating Older Adults’ Perceptions of Al Tools for Medication Decisions: Vignette-Based Experimental Survey” by Vordenberg et al [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">1</xref>]. This study addresses a critical area of research, exploring older adults’ trust in artificial intelligence (Al) tools for medication recommendations. While the manuscript presents meaningful insights, several aspects could benefit from further clarification or expansion.</p>
    <p>First, older adults may encounter practical challenges when using AI tools, such as difficulties with device operation or complex interfaces. Incorporating user testing or enhanced scenario simulations could optimize the usability of AI tools for older adults. As technology evolves, older adults’ perceptions of AI may change over time or with increased exposure to its use. A comparison of AI recommendations with those of health care professionals may either strengthen trust in AI or create conflicts with medical advice, which could lead to greater tensions in the doctor-patient relationship [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2">2</xref>]. Long-term follow-up studies would be valuable in tracking these dynamics.</p>
    <p>Second, the study emphasizes the impact of differences among demographic groups but does not explore the cultural and socioeconomic factors that underlie these disparities. The acceptance of AI recommendations by older adults may be influenced by cultural attitudes, psychological factors, income levels, and past medical experiences. These elements may limit the generalizability of the study’s findings across diverse social contexts [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">3</xref>]. Future research should delve deeper into these factors to enhance the applicability of the results.</p>
    <p>Third, while the authors have addressed certain issues, we believe that several important considerations remain underexplored. The study assumes controlled scenarios to manage AI-related variables; however, this simplification may be overly idealized and fails to capture the complexity of medication decision-making in real-world contexts [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">4</xref>]. In practice, decisions regarding medication discontinuation are influenced by multiple intersecting factors, including not only the doctor’s advice but also communication and trust between the patient and health care provider, the patient’s financial situation, the need for coordinated care across multiple chronic conditions, and potential side effects following medication cessation. Additionally, the opinions and interventions of family members, as well as the patient’s personal values, may also play significant roles in the decision-making process [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">5</xref>]. Therefore, medication decisions in real-life scenarios are very complex and require a comprehensive consideration of various factors beyond fixed hypothetical scenarios.</p>
    <p>Overall, this study makes a significant contribution to understanding older adults’ perceptions of AI in health care. Addressing these limitations could enhance the clinical relevance and robustness of future research. We would like to commend the authors for their efforts and thank the editorial team for providing a platform to publish this important work.</p>
  </body>
  <back>
    <app-group/>
    <glossary>
      <title>Abbreviations</title>
      <def-list>
        <def-item>
          <term id="abb1">AI</term>
          <def>
            <p>artificial intelligence</p>
          </def>
        </def-item>
      </def-list>
    </glossary>
    <ack>
      <p>The study was supported by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Department, Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Co-construction of Traditional Chinese Medicine Modernization Research Program Major Project (GZY-ZJ-KJ-23007); State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Department, Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Co-construction of Key Laboratory of Research on Prevention and Treatment for Depression Syndrome (GZY-ZJ-SY-2402); Zhejiang Province 551 Health Talent Training Project (Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission Office [2021] No. 40)</p>
    </ack>
    <fn-group>
      <fn fn-type="conflict">
        <p>None declared.</p>
      </fn>
    </fn-group>
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</article>
