In a new survey commissioned by Wolters Kluwer Health, providers and administrators expressed hopes and concerns about AI solutions, as well as how unsanctioned tools are used in their organization.1
Respondents were asked to rank eight AI risks in order of their concerns (data breach, compliance, privacy, etc.). Patient safety was the top concern for all respondents across all demographics by a strong margin.
Further analysis of respondents' top two concerns revealed additional insights about providers with less than five years of experience. These clinicians are digital-natives and are entering the workforce with experience using AI tools, personalized training, and generative responses in medical school.
1. Newer providers were less concerned with AI bias and accuracy
Two widespread concerns about AI outputs are bias and accuracy. For information bias, 16% of all providers placed it in the top two concerns—however, the percentage drops to 12% for younger providers.
Regarding accurate AI outputs, nearly a quarter of providers (24%) with less than five years of experience were concerned that AI may produce inaccurate answers. However, that’s far below the 34% of providers with five or more years of experience who were concerned—it was ranked second overall behind patient safety. Younger providers ranked data breaches and privacy above accuracy as top concerns.
2. Deskilling is a large concern for newer clinicians
Outside of patient safety, deskilling was the top concern for younger providers, with 33% ranking it in the top two positions compared to 11% of the rest of the provider pool and 15% for all respondents. This could indicate that younger providers are aware that AI answers could impact clinical thinking in the long term.
Implement enterprise-wide AI training for providers
With deskilling ranking high among the top concerns, leaders have an opportunity to support newer clinicians with trainings and mentorship to help develop clinical judgment alongside AI solutions.
It’s also notable that only 16% of all providers were concerned about bias and 24% for accuracy—AI training can benefit all providers, especially as the technology rapidly evolves. In the new era, understanding the balance of efficient information gathering, evidence-based content foundations, and clinical judgment is critical for safe, effective patient care.
Explore more survey findings and action steps in our free whitepaper, “Shadow AI: A hidden risk for healthcare.”
