Current uses and future expectations for AI in health care

Medscape and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) have recently released their joint research, “Early Successes, Untapped Potential, Lingering Questions: Medscape & HIMSS AI Adoption in Healthcare Report 2024.” The report demonstrated that, currently, artificial intelligence (AI) in health care settings is primarily used for administrative tasks, and applications of AI that are more clinical are still in the early stages of adoption.

Additionally, the report found that most medical facilities have been using AI tools for at least 10 months, and survey respondents expressed their expectations for AI to one day play a larger role in reviewing electronic health records (EHRs), analyzing medical literature and generally enhancing patient care.

“This report provides valuable insights into AI’s current impact and future potential in health care,” Jon McKenna, executive editor of reports at Medscape, said in an organizational release. “While AI is making progress, particularly in administrative functions, there’s still progress to be made in expanding its clinical applications and addressing privacy and ethical concerns. The findings highlight the need for increased training and support as health care organizations continue to integrate AI. It’s promising to see the recognition of AI’s potential to enhance patient care and improve efficiency.”

The report also suggests that a significant knowledge gap could develop as AI’s integration into health care progresses. According to the report, just 24% of survey respondents received AI training from their employers. Regarding their biggest hesitations, 72% of respondents considered data privacy to be a major concern and 70% worry about ethical dilemmas with increased use of AI.

“Health professionals understand that artificial intelligence has the potential to fundamentally change health and health care, from clinical decision-support to operations to patient engagement,” Hal Wolf, president and CEO of HIMSS, said. “However, a critical knowledge gap exists around the effective implementation of AI capabilities. To harness AI’s full potential, practitioners and health system executives must build a digitally mature infrastructure that prioritizes ethical and secure use, ultimately improving patient outcomes and optimizing resource management.”

Respondents who indicated that their medical workplace was already leveraging AI tools were given a list of 19 likely applications and asked to select where AI was currently being used. From this line of questioning, researchers found that administrative tasks topped the in-use-now list, with 36% of respondents answering that their workplace was already using AI to transcribe patient notes and 32% were using AI to transcribe business meetings. In the same vein, 29% of respondents said their workplaces were already using AI to create routine client communications, while 27% and 26% indicated that their workplaces used AI for patient-related recordkeeping and reviewing EHRs.

In terms of clinical applications, 26% of those surveyed said their workplaces use AI to analyze x-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans and other images, and 20% report using AI to analyze non-imaging patient data and test results as well as to assist in patient diagnosis.

In the future, over 40% of those surveyed expect AI assist in reviewing EHRs and other relevant medical literature and data, while still being used for transcription and communications. Many respondents also predict AI will be used more often for clinical purposes, as well as to train physicians on improving patient care.

In total, researchers recruited 846 respondents for the 10-minute online survey. The surveyed population was made up of U.S. executive or clinical leaders, practicing physicians, nurses, other health practitioners or technology professionals.