Americans want transparency when AI is used in their healthcare

Whether for reading X-rays or taking notes on patient-doctor conversations, artificial intelligence is reshaping healthcare.

A new Pew Research Center survey asked U.S. adults about their views on AI at the doctor’s office. A common thread in their responses is that they’re uncertain about whether it’s used in their healthcare, and they want to be informed if it is. Here are more key takeaways from the survey.

Americans want doctors to tell them if AI is being used in their healthcare

About seven-in-ten U.S. adults (72%) say it’s extremely or very important that a doctor or other healthcare provider tells them if they’re using AI in their healthcare. And majorities across age, gender, education, and racial and ethnic groups say this. (Read the appendix for a detailed breakdown.)

This comes as discussion is rapidly evolving about medical professionals’ legal and ethical obligations to get patients’ consent before using AI tools.

Many Americans say doctors should tell them if AI is being used, even for administrative tasks

Eight-in-ten or more want a provider or their office to tell them if AI is used for things that can directly affect care or medical decisions, like analyzing medical scans, diagnosing conditions and explaining lab results.

% of U.S. adults who say a healthcare provider or their office should tell them if AI is being used in their healthcare to …

% of U.S. adults who say a healthcare provider or their office should tell them if AI is being used in their healthcare to …

When it comes to AI being used to take notes in the background during an appointment, 72% of Americans say they should be told.

Smaller shares – but still more than half – feel this way about behind-the-scenes administrative activities. These include scheduling medical appointments (56%) and getting prescription refills (64%). Scheduling is the task that the largest share feels they do not need to be told about (33%).

For each of the tasks we asked about, another 9% to 10% say they’re not sure whether they need to be informed about AI use. White adults were more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they want to be told if AI is used for the three tasks we asked about that directly shape medical decisions. (Read the appendix to explore more differences by race and ethnicity.)

A majority of Americans want more say over whether AI is used in their healthcare

Americans tend to feel like they don’t have a lot of control over AI use in their healthcare. The largest share (53%) say they have not too much or no say about whether a provider uses AI in their care. Another 33% feel they have at least some say.

White adults (60%) are more likely than Hispanic (40%), Black (43%) and Asian adults (42%) to say they have little to no say. (Read the appendix to explore more differences by race and ethnicity.)

In addition, Americans are three times as likely to say that they want more input on whether AI is used in their healthcare as they are to say they’re comfortable with how much input they have (63% vs. 21%). Another 16% aren’t sure.

Many Americans are unsure whether and how AI is being used in their healthcare

% of U.S. adults who say that to the best of their knowledge, doctors or other healthcare providers have/have not used AI in their healthcare

% of U.S. adults who say that to the best of their knowledge, doctors or other healthcare providers have/have not used AI in their healthcare

A small share (16%) say their doctors or other healthcare providers have ever used AI in their healthcare. Much larger shares say it hasn’t been used (37%) or they’re not sure (46%). This comes as AI use in hospitals and doctor’s offices is increasingly common.

Adults with higher education levels are more likely to say their providers have used AI. For example, 25% of those with a postgraduate degree say this, compared with 11% of those with a high school diploma or less education. Yet across education levels, Americans are similarly likely to say they’re not sure (ranging from 46% among those with a high school diploma or less to 48% of those with a postgraduate degree). (Read the appendix for more details.)

Among those who say their providers have used AI in their care, the largest share say they understand somewhat well how it’s been used (44%). But they are more likely to say they understand it not too or not at all well (32%) than extremely or very well (22%).

Note: Here are the survey questions used for this analysis, the detailed responses and the survey methodology.

Appendix

Note: Respondents who said “Not sure” or did not answer are not shown. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanics are of any race.

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic adults are of any race.

Note: Respondents who did not answer are not shown. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic; Hispanics are of any race.