LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New research from Medscape UK into attitudes towards artificial intelligence (AI) among UK doctors has revealed half (47%) would not use generative AI to treat their patients, while a similar proportion (48%) would consider using the technology for this purpose. The vast majority of the 745 physicians surveyed (86%) expressed concern that patients using generative AI for medical advice could receive misinformation, with 82% concerned that patients trying to self-diagnose could take AI more seriously than their doctor.
In the Medscape UK Doctors and AI 2024 report released today, concerns about unfettered use of AI in healthcare settings were highlighted by 8 in 10 doctors (83%) who agreed there should be government and/or medical association oversight of its use. A third of those surveyed (33%) said they were not confident that either government or medical associations will be able to ensure patient confidentiality in the context of AI use.
“What these results are telling us is that doctors have the same concerns that we all have about AI in relation to privacy, misinformation and the need for regulation. Our research showed that half of those surveyed felt the use of AI could reduce the risk of medical error and can also be a useful information source for physicians themselves, both of which present significant benefits to patients,” said Nadia El-Awady, MBBCh, MA, Editorial Director, Medscape UK.
The majority of doctors surveyed (57%) were enthusiastic about the use of AI in supplementing their own expertise with diagnostic or treatment option information. In particular, over half (55%) were positive about the use of AI for scan interpretation.
“We have seen some exciting advances in the use of AI in healthcare, particularly in the interpretation of scans for earlier diagnosis of conditions like cancer, so it’s encouraging to see that UK physicians are seeing its potential benefits,” said Nadia El-Awady.
Doctors reported that AI could save them time, particularly on administrative tasks, with 75% reporting a positive attitude towards this. Around 1 in 10 doctors are already using AI to research conditions (14%), office administration (13%) and for staff and patient scheduling (10%).
One respondent noted, “Like any other potentially promising research topic, we need to refine it, prove its worth or discredit it at the earliest opportunity.”
“AI is coming whether we like it or not, we just have to find a way to work with it,” noted a second respondent.
The Medscape UK Doctors and AI Report 2024 is available here:
https://www.medscape.com/doctors_and_ai_uk_2024
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