More and more patients are turning to this technology to prepare for infection, but questions remain about how organizations ensure its appropriate use.
Like the proverbial runaway freight train, artificial intelligence is currently gaining rapid adoption among patients and clinicians.
While still surrounded by doubts and concerns, AI’s unique ability to extract information and extract knowledge offers a panacea for those dealing with information overload.
Two studies released this week demonstrate the widespread use of this technology, while underscoring the need for the healthcare industry to consider and transform this technology to better interact with people who increasingly live in an AI world.
More power for patients
According to research published in the Wolters Kluwer 2026 Future Ready Healthcare Report, increased access to and better understanding of information is creating a new definition of what it means to be an empowered patient.
“AI is not just something that healthcare organizations are deploying within the walls of their health care systems,” says Peter Bonis, M.D., chief medical officer at Wolters Kluwer Health. “This shapes the flow of the patient encounter long before the patient enters the exam room. It has an important impact on the dynamics of clinical decision-making.”
According to the report, 42% of consumers bring AI-generated content into their medical appointments. On the other side of the stethoscope, 59% of clinicians are reported to be engaging with AI-based data brought in by patients, and clinicians are generally “fairly aligned with patients on how that information is used during the encounter.”
Increasingly tech-savvy and technology-dependent consumers are looking to AI to prepare appointments and take an active role in their care and the care of their dependents, the survey found. Caregivers who care for both children and elderly parents appear to be relying on AI, as 54 percent of consumers report using AI to research side effects and 52 percent say they rely on AI to better understand diagnoses.
However, both clinicians and patients are concerned that the use of AI in healthcare requires more oversight than is currently the case. A common concern is that AI can be manipulated, intentionally or unintentionally, and there is a risk of injecting bias into medical decision-making, especially if the information it generates is based on data culled from advertising. Three in five patients (61%) and 72% of clinicians are concerned that AI-generated information could introduce bias and influence the answers provided regarding treatment decisions.
The need for organizational evolution
Clinicians remain concerned that AI governance policies are not being implemented fast enough. Just 27% of respondents this year said their healthcare organizations have AI governance policies in place with sufficient guardrails, up slightly from 21% last year. Others also reported concerns about how governance policies are being communicated throughout the organization.
Clinicians are also concerned about instances where AI fabricates false or fabricated information, such as fake medical studies. About 74% cited concerns about how such hallucinations would affect medical practice. Some are concerned about “skilling” that may result from increased reliance on AI tools. We are concerned that this will impede our ability to identify inaccurate information and substandard recommendations.
Given the recent emergence of AI, both patients and clinicians say human input is essential. More than 90 percent of clinicians and 89 percent of patients say they believe the sources behind AI-generated healthcare content used in patient care should be verified by human experts.
“All healthcare providers, from nurses at the bedside to pharmacists and physicians in retail stores, need to recognize that AI is becoming part of the patient journey long before the clinical encounter,” Bonis says. “These platforms offer a level of access and convenience that healthcare organizations cannot compete with today. We must adapt to ensure patients can connect AI-generated information to broader healthcare activities.”
“The goal should be to help patients and clinicians understand the information together, not to prevent that engagement,” he added. “Healthcare organizations can support this by providing trusted resources, establishing clear governance around the use of AI, and strengthening the role of clinicians in validating and translating information into evidence-based treatment decisions.”
Clinicians still have concerns about AI
The widespread use of AI by clinicians confirms their concerns about the reliability of the technology and the lack of safeguards surrounding its use.
A new report from Healio details these concerns, based on the company’s survey of more than 600 healthcare workers.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, 70% of those surveyed say they use AI, but more than four in five (81%) say they have moderate to very low confidence in using AI professionally. In fact, nearly half (44%) of those with low or very low confidence still use AI in clinical practice. Approximately 48 percent of those who regularly use AI tools apply them to clinical decision support, but 16 percent report having low or no confidence in AI tools.
A dichotomy exists when it comes to assessing whether an organization has sufficient oversight of AI. Nearly 70% of respondents say their hospital, clinic, or health system supports the use of AI, but only 15% of them report having clear and comprehensive policies regarding the use of AI.
The main concerns reported by respondents were AI accuracy (70% responded), legal liability (59%), and overreliance on technology (59%).
Still, most medical experts are optimistic about the value of AI in clinical care. More than two-thirds say AI has the potential to improve the quality of healthcare, and 47% believe AI will improve access to healthcare.
“The fact that so many healthcare professionals are turning to AI, even when they lack trust in the products they are using, shows how pervasive AI is,” said Joanmarie Stiglich, Chief AI Officer at Healio. “As a leader in medical news and information, we feel a great responsibility to help healthcare professionals choose tools they can trust and be confident that they will produce accurate, actionable results, especially when it comes to influencing clinical decision-making.”
Fred Bazzoli is editor-in-chief of Health Data Management.
