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The evaluation illusion of large language models in medicine.

Journal articles  - Letter
Agrawal, M; Chen, IY; Gulamali, F; Joshi, S
Published in: NPJ Digit Med
October 7, 2025

While large language models (LLMs) hold promise for transforming clinical healthcare, current comparisons and benchmark evaluations of large language models in medicine often fail to capture real-world efficacy. Specifically, we highlight how key discrepancies arising from choices of data, tasks, and metrics can limit meaningful assessment of translational impact and cause misleading conclusions. Therefore, we advocate for rigorous, context-aware evaluations and experimental transparency across both research and deployment.

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Published In

NPJ Digit Med

DOI

EISSN

2398-6352

Publication Date

October 7, 2025

Volume

8

Issue

1

Start / End Page

600

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • 4203 Health services and systems
 

Citation

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MLA
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Agrawal, M., Chen, I. Y., Gulamali, F., & Joshi, S. (2025). The evaluation illusion of large language models in medicine. NPJ Digit Med, 8(1), 600. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01963-x
Agrawal, Monica, Irene Y. Chen, Freya Gulamali, and Shalmali Joshi. “The evaluation illusion of large language models in medicine.NPJ Digit Med 8, no. 1 (October 7, 2025): 600. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-025-01963-x.
Agrawal M, Chen IY, Gulamali F, Joshi S. The evaluation illusion of large language models in medicine. NPJ Digit Med. 2025 Oct 7;8(1):600.
Agrawal, Monica, et al. “The evaluation illusion of large language models in medicine.NPJ Digit Med, vol. 8, no. 1, Oct. 2025, p. 600. Pubmed, doi:10.1038/s41746-025-01963-x.
Agrawal M, Chen IY, Gulamali F, Joshi S. The evaluation illusion of large language models in medicine. NPJ Digit Med. 2025 Oct 7;8(1):600.

Published In

NPJ Digit Med

DOI

EISSN

2398-6352

Publication Date

October 7, 2025

Volume

8

Issue

1

Start / End Page

600

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • 4203 Health services and systems