New research in npj Digital Medicine suggests that patients might be warming up to medical AI, at least if it’s less expensive than seeing an actual doctor.
Here’s the setup. Johns Hopkins researchers recruited 248 U.S. adults with type 1 diabetes, then presented them with scenarios where they were due for an annual diabetic eye screening.
- Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults, and autonomous AI tools that can diagnose the disease from retinal images are already cleared by the FDA and in clinical use.
- In each scenario, one of these autonomous AI tools was made available as an alternative to a specialist referral.
The catch was the copay. Participants were randomized to have the AI offered with either a $50 copay, or with the copay waived by their insurer or the AI developer.
Fifty bucks is fifty bucks. More than 80% of participants opted for the AI tool when the copay was waived, compared to 43% who chose AI when the copay wasn’t waived.
- Not only did more participants opt for the AI screening when there was no copay, but participants also perceived the AI as more effective.
- It didn’t matter whether the copay was waived by the AI developer or their insurer.
There was one major caveat. Patients who chose AI over a traditional screening with a human specialist were far more likely to seek reconfirmation from their doctor after getting the results.
- The AI group was nearly 3x more likely to seek reconfirmation after abnormal results, and still nearly 50% more likely to ask for a second look after getting normal results.
The trust isn’t there yet. AI might be able to give patients results, but they still want to hear from a medical professional to verify those results.
- The authors point out that human oversight is still clearly a top priority for patients, and that “it’s crucial to address the persistent preferences for provider follow-up and verification, even when AI results are normal.”
The Takeaway
Financial incentives remain undefeated, but this study confirmed that you can’t put a price on trust with AI in medicine.
