Hands-on experience can help healthcare workers appreciate AI more: Report

New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) As artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly finds its way into healthcare, physicians can recognise the true value of its advantages in clinical practice more prominently after successful implementation and regular usage in their day-to-day work, according to a report on Thursday.

The report by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, revealed that healthcare professionals, who had previous experience with AI were more supportive towards the use of the technology in clinical practice.

However, those who had never used AI before were more sceptical about the improvements that AI could bring. Nevertheless, both groups of physicians were overall positive about AI improving their work.

“AI is becoming embedded in many of the daily activities of clinical practices, which may result in higher levels of confidence among physicians in this technology. The extent to which AI could be perceived as beneficial or as concerning differed greatly according to its specific use, with physicians currently feeling more comfortable with using AI for non-clinical activities,” said Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research at GlobalData, in a statement.

“However, experience with technology seems to be a key factor in understanding how AI can improve or enhance daily activities -- there were no significant differences when survey data was analysed by the number of years in practice or specialty,” Jakimaviciute said.

There is an undeniable need to create innovative strategies to address healthcare needs for future generations. The ageing population, increasing prevalence of chronic disease, workforce shortages, healthcare underfunding, advances in science, and increasing amount of information make AI stand out as a promising solution to improve the provision of healthcare.

“In the future, AI use in healthcare is only going to increase, and these survey results indicate that as more physicians get accustomed to using AI, their comfort levels with the technology in other healthcare areas is going to increase as well. Of course, no technology is perfect, and the challenges that come with AI will need to be taken on board while leveraging its benefits,” Jakimaviciute said.

“As it stands, the main priorities are addressing ethical, data privacy and confidentiality risks, especially since the speed at which AI is developing is substantial and regulatory frameworks still need to catch up,”she added.