AI saves clinicians time but most lack training, survey finds

- AI is saving clinicians time, but the majority of healthcare professionals say training in the technology is inadequate, inconsistent or unavailable, a global survey by Philips showed on Tuesday.

The study, Philips Future Health Index, was carried out through two quantitative surveys, one with 2,011 healthcare professionals and another ‌with 20,085 ⁠patients across ⁠10 countries.

Most AI use cases for healthcare professionals include using it ​as a "buddy" to discuss work-related ideas with, transcribing clinical notes or scheduling patient ​appointments


On the clinical side, AI can warn about dangerous drug combinations, suggest diagnoses based on symptoms or help analyse X-rays ​or scans

Of all surveyed professionals, 46% ⁠reported annual ‌time savings of at least 132 hours on ​average, while ​50% said AI had increased their capacity to ⁠see patients

Nurses and doctors said AI helped them ​be more precise and careful, better keep up ​with research and clinical developments, and think through cases in detail

But the use of AI has outpaced adoption by organisations, with 64% of clinicians turning to their personal AI tools when workplace options do not meet their needs

"The organizations aren't moving ‌fast enough to provide the tools and the training," Philips' Chief Innovation Officer Shez Partovi told Reuters

70% ​of healthcare ​professionals said that ⁠training for AI-enabled tools was unavailable, limited or inconsistent at their organizations

"Expanding structured, role-specific training will help clinicians develop the digital skills and ​clinical judgment needed to work effectively with AI," the report said

Almost all professionals, 90%, said it was essential to keep a human in the loop as AI advances; 86% said all AI outputs required human oversight

(Reporting by Vera Dvorakova and Lucie Barbier in Gdansk, Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)