Clinicians are embracing AI faster than hospitals can handle, report finds
Artificial intelligence is reshaping healthcare, from the way clinicians take notes during a consultation to how informed they arrive at an appointment. The report, Future Health Index 2026, carried out by...
Artificial intelligence is reshaping healthcare, from the way clinicians take notes during a consultation to how informed they arrive at an appointment.
The report, Future Health Index 2026, carried out by the health technology giant Philips, aimed to quantify and measure the exact impacts of AI on doctors' and nurses' daily tasks.
It found that clinicians' use of AI-enabled tools provided by their organisation has increased in the past year.
More than eight in 10 healthcare professionals said they are optimistic that AI can improve patient outcomes, up 4 percentage points from 2025, and seven in 10 believe the benefits already outweigh the risks.
“This is the first year where the signals from the clinicians are that actually AI is having an impact that's measurable by them, or at least they sense it,” Shez Partovi, Chief Innovation Officer at Philips, told Euronews Health.
Partovi said that one of the main results of wider AI use in healthcare settings is time-saving, something especially valuable in systems already strained by workforce shortages.
“That time is resulting in better work-life balance, less stress, less overtime, more time with patients, more equity, and access.”
The report included answers from more than 2,000 clinicians and over 20,000 patients in 10 countries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Close to half of the clinicians (46%) said that thanks to AI, they save at least 132 hours annually, equivalent to more than three full working weeks. Those who reported saving the most time from administrative or non-clinical tasks were nurses.
“Nurses led the way, and they said, will you give that time back to me? I put it into collaboration with other clinicians, I put into spending more time with patients, more time reflecting on the case itself, the patient's medical information, and what I need to do,” Partovi said.
Around 71% of medical professionals reported improved workflow efficiency, and 50% said AI has increased their capacity to see more patients.
The benefits extend beyond work itself. Around 50% said AI has improved their work-life balance and reduced their stress levels.
How are clinicians using AI?
Some of the most commonly reported uses of AI involve administrative tasks such as transcribing clinical notes or scheduling patient appointments.
Clinicians also reported using it as a “buddy” to discuss work-related ideas, speed up X-rays, or flag dangerous drug combinations.
The report found that 39% of respondents have already seen AI identify or prevent potential medical errors at least three times in the past three months, and more than 65% of clinicians said that using AI has increased their confidence in decision-making.
Can health systems keep pace with AI development?
The report found that clinician demand for AI is moving quickly, sometimes faster than organisations can respond.
“There is such a high desire by clinicians to use tools that they're actually also using their own personal tools because they said that their organizations aren't moving fast enough,” said Partovi.
The report found that nearly two-thirds of healthcare professionals turn to personal AI tools when workplace options don’t meet their needs.
The tools are available, but many clinicians say they need more support to use them effectively. Seven out of 10 said that training for AI-enabled tools is unavailable, limited or inconsistent at their organisation.
“This is the first time that I recall that the adoption of the tool is so fast that the organization can't keep up,” added Partovi.
The pace of change is so rapid that organisations sometimes do not know where to begin – and it goes beyond that, questions of privacy, safety, security, governance and role-specific training all need to be addressed, he said.
How does the future look?
Nearly all healthcare professionals expect their roles to evolve due to AI. Around 96% expect it to change how they work, and 53% anticipate a significant shift in their role.
Around 44% worry about losing clinical skills through over-reliance on AI, while 37% say their role is changing faster than they’re comfortable with.
While embracing the new tools and looking for ways to incorporate them in their daily tasks, clinicians also consider it essential to keep a human in the loop.
Approximately 86% said all AI outputs require human oversight, and more than 80% said AI will never replace the relationships clinicians build with patients.
At the same time, seven out of 10 healthcare professionals believe that with the increased use of these tools, human interaction skills will become more important than ever.
