Doctors who use artificial intelligence (AI) see benefits for their own efficiency and for patient care in a resource-stretched NHS and, although they recognise there are risks, they feel confident in managing them, according to a new study published by the General Medical Council (GMC).
Researchers commissioned by the GMC sought to find out more about the types of AI doctors are using, how well they understand the risks and what they do if they disagree with the output of an AI system. Doctors who had used AI in the past 12 months discussed the benefits, risks and their understanding of their professional responsibilities when using such technologies, in a series of in-depth interviews with researchers from Community Research.
Most saw benefits to their efficiency when using AI, seeing it as a way to save or make more use of their time. However, some queried this saying they lacked confidence in the accuracy of some diagnostic and decision support systems, and so spent more time checking the results they received.
Many doctors felt that NHS IT systems would need to improve to pave the way for a broader roll out of AI technologies, noting that many are highly specialised and still in the development stage. Doctors who currently use generative AI, such as Chat GPT, often do so through a current interest in AI. Further benefits of AI use shared by doctors included the potential to reduce risk of human error and reduce bias through judgments made on patient characteristics.
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