That’s according to a survey commissioned by the Health Foundation of 1,292 NHS staff members and 7,200 nationally representative members of the UK public (aged 16 years and older).
The study revealed that the public was less, but still broadly receptive to, the use of AI in healthcare, with 54 per cent supporting its use in patient care and 61 per cent for administrative purposes.
With the potential for responsible AI to help ease the significant pressures facing the NHS, engaging with the public and NHS staff and understanding their views will be critical to making progress. The survey is one of the largest of its kind in the world and sought to understand current attitudes and concerns about the use of AI in healthcare.
Tim Horton, assistant director (insight and analysis) at the Health Foundation, said, “Interest is growing rapidly in the potential of AI to improve health care, and while it is not a panacea, it could play a significant role in helping to ease NHS pressures and support the workforce.
“Capitalising on the potential of AI will require a dedicated strategy to create agreement on priorities and provide greater direction for the NHS and industry. And engaging people in decisions about how AI should be used must be at the heart of this.”
Further findings
Despite the public being broadly receptive to the use of AI in health care, a significant minority are still not supportive. For example, around one in six members of the public (18 per cent) and around one in ten NHS staff surveyed (11 per cent) think AI will worsen care quality.
Among the public, young people (16 to 24-year-olds) are less likely to believe that AI will improve care quality compared to other age groups. Also, women are less likely to believe that AI will improve care quality than men.
The main concerns with AI in health care were its potential impact on interpersonal aspects and decision-making accuracy.
Almost a third (30 per cent) of the public think that one of the main possible disadvantages of AI will be that healthcare staff won’t question the outputs of AI systems, and so could miss errors.
Over half of the public (53 per cent) think AI will make them feel more distant from healthcare staff and nearly two-thirds of the NHS staff surveyed (65 per cent) think AI will make them feel more distant from patients.
While the NHS staff surveyed are looking forward to using AI as part of their role (57 per cent agreeing, compared to 17 per cent disagreeing), this is not felt equally across all occupational groups. For example, medical and dental staff have been more positive than other clinical staff such as healthcare assistants and healthcare support workers.
The publication of this survey follows the Health Foundation’s call for a dedicated strategy for AI in health care. They argue this should prioritise engaging the public and healthcare staff to ensure AI works for them.
Tim added, “If AI is to be accepted, and the benefits fully realised, it will have to command the confidence of patients, the public and NHS staff. The Health Foundation’s research suggests the public and NHS staff, on balance, support the use of AI for clinical and administrative purposes. But some remain unconvinced, and so it’s crucial to engage people in a conversation about the future of healthcare – in order to understand and address their concerns.
“It’s clear the public want a human to remain ‘in the loop’ for many uses of AI in healthcare, and they want AI technologies to be designed and used in ways that protect the human dimension of care.
He concluded, “Our research also suggests the impact of AI will be felt differently across roles in healthcare, and so in helping staff adjust to the rise of AI, policymakers and NHS leaders will need to tailor the support they provide.”