Bain & Company’s US Frontline of Consumer Healthcare Survey turned up the surprising result that patients are more comfortable with generative AI “analyzing their radiology scan and making a diagnosis than answering the phone at their doctor’s office.”
That’s quite the headline, but the authors were quick to point out that it’s probably less of a measure of confidence in GenAI’s medical expertise than a sign that patients aren’t yet comfortable interacting with the technology directly.
Here’s the breakdown of patient comfort with different GenAI use cases:
While it does appear that patients are more prepared to have GenAI supporting their doctor than engaging with it themselves, it’s just as notable that less than half reported feeling comfortable with even a single GenAI application in healthcare.
- No “comfortable” response was above 37%, and after adding in the “neutral” votes, there was still only one application that broke 50%: note taking during appointments.
- The fact that only 19% felt comfortable with GenAI answering calls for providers or payors could also just be a sign that patients would far rather talk to a human in either situation, regardless of the tech’s capabilities.
The next chart looks at GenAI perceptions among healthcare workers:
Physicians and administrators are feeling a similar mix of excitement and apprehension, sharing a generally positive view of GenAI’s potential to alleviate admin burdens and clinician workloads, as well as a concern that it could undermine the patient-provider relationship.
- Worries over new technology threatening the relationship of patients and providers aren’t new, and we just witnessed them play out at an accelerated pace with telehealth.
- Despite initial fears, the value of the relationship prevailed, which Bain backed up with the fact that 61% of patients who use telehealth only do so with their own provider.
Whether you’re measuring by patient or provider comfort, GenAI’s progress will be closely tied to trust in the technology on an application-by-application basis. Trust takes time to build and first impressions are key, so this survey underscores the importance of nailing the user experience early on.
The Takeaway
The story of generative AI in healthcare is just getting started, and as we saw with telehealth, the first few pages could take some serious willpower to get through. New technologies mean new workflows, revenue models, and countless other barriers to overcome, but trust will only keep building every step of the way. Plus, the next chapter looks pretty dang good.
