Artificial intelligence in medicine: majority of patients skeptical!

Artificial intelligence in medicine: majority of patients skeptical!

A comprehensive study conducted by the Technical University of Munich examines patients' opinions on artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine. This research, known as the COMFORT study, surveyed over 14,000 patients at 74 clinics in 43 countries. The key results show that one's own health status has a significant influence on the acceptance of AI. People with poor health are particularly reluctant to use AI.

Overall, 57.6 percent of those surveyed rated the use of AI in medicine positively. However, there are clear gender differences: men have an approval rating of 59.1 percent, while only 55.6 percent of women have a positive attitude. A higher understanding of technology and a corresponding affinity for technology correlate with a more positive attitude towards AI use. Among those who have extensive knowledge of AI, the approval rate is an impressive 83.3 percent.

Influences on the acceptance of AI

The study shows that attitudes towards AI in medicine change significantly depending on how severe the illness is. Over 50 percent of patients with very poor health were “very negative” or “somewhat negative” about medical AI, while only 1.3 percent of respondents with very good health shared these attitudes. These observations raise questions, as Dr. Felix Busch, the first author of the study, notes. He points out that it remains unclear why seriously ill patients often adopt a negative attitude. Possible causes could be experiences with the healthcare system or psychological aspects.

Another important result of the study is the respondents' desire for transparency: 70.2 percent of participants want comprehensible results from AI applications in medicine. In addition, 72.9 percent support AI being used as a supporting tool, while the final decisions should still rest with doctors. Only 4.4 percent of respondents prefer AI diagnoses only, and 6.6 percent want diagnoses to be made without any AI support.

Goal and outlook

The results of this study are intended not only to shed light on the current situation of patient acceptance of AI in medicine, but also to serve as a basis for future developments in this area. One focus is on aligning future AI applications more closely to the needs of patients. These findings are also important for the COMFORT consortium, which is planning a follow-up study to further analyze and deepen the previous results.

This comprehensive study helps enrich the debate about the use of artificial intelligence in medicine and provides valuable insights into patients' views in an increasingly technological healthcare landscape. Loud TUM It is crucial that the use of AI is not only effective, but also trustworthy and understandable for patients.

In a similar consideration leads Doctors newspaper states that the health status of patients significantly influences the use of new technologies in healthcare. These study results must be taken seriously in order to achieve widespread acceptance of AI in healthcare.

Taken together, these insights demonstrate that there are many factors that shape perceptions of AI in medicine and that it is essential to take these into account to enable successful and sustainable use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, as well IT Boltwise summarizes.