Agentic AI in Healthcare & Medicine: A Seven-Dimensional Taxonomy for Empirical Evaluation of LLM-based Agents

TL;DR

This paper introduces a seven-dimensional taxonomy to systematically evaluate LLM-based healthcare agents, analyzing 49 studies to identify capability prevalence, gaps, and architectural patterns in the field.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive, structured framework for empirical assessment of LLM-based healthcare agents, highlighting key strengths and gaps in current research.

Findings

External Knowledge Integration is widely implemented (~76%).

Event-Triggered Activation is largely absent (~92%).

Information-centric tasks like QA and decision support are well-developed.

Abstract

Large Language Model (LLM)-based agents that plan, use tools and act has begun to shape healthcare and medicine. Reported studies demonstrate competence on various tasks ranging from EHR analysis and differential diagnosis to treatment planning and research workflows. Yet the literature largely consists of overviews which are either broad surveys or narrow dives into a single capability (e.g., memory, planning, reasoning), leaving healthcare work without a common frame. We address this by reviewing 49 studies using a seven-dimensional taxonomy: Cognitive Capabilities, Knowledge Management, Interaction Patterns, Adaptation & Learning, Safety & Ethics, Framework Typology and Core Tasks & Subtasks with 29 operational sub-dimensions. Using explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria and a labeling rubric (Fully Implemented, Partially Implemented, Not Implemented), we map each study to the taxonomy and report quantitative summaries of capability prevalence and co-occurrence patterns. Our empirical analysis surfaces clear asymmetries. For instance, the External Knowledge Integration sub-dimension under Knowledge Management is commonly realized (~76% Fully Implemented) whereas Event-Triggered Activation sub-dimenison under Interaction Patterns is largely absent (~92% Not Implemented) and Drift Detection & Mitigation sub-dimension under Adaptation & Learning is rare (~98% Not Implemented). Architecturally, Multi-Agent Design sub-dimension under Framework Typology is the dominant pattern (~82% Fully Implemented) while orchestration layers remain mostly partial. Across Core Tasks & Subtasks, information centric capabilities lead e.g., Medical Question Answering & Decision Support and Benchmarking & Simulation, while action and discovery oriented areas such as Treatment Planning & Prescription still show substantial gaps (~59% Not Implemented).