AI in Healthcare: Patients' Comfort Tied to Familiarity
The degree of patients' comfort with healthcare facilities employing artificial intelligence (AI) is found to be impacted by their familiarity with AI technology. ()
As the healthcare landscape undergoes transformation due to factors like ageing populations, rising chronic diseases, and shifts in lifestyle choices, technology, particularly AI, is playing an increasingly vital role.
AI's Expanding Role in Healthcare
"AI is already successfully used to detect image-based diseases such as cancer and the technology is continuously evolving to enable much wider use cases within healthcare. Successful use cases can encourage further adoption and investment in this technology," said Urte Jakimaviciute, Senior Director of Market Research at GlobalData, in a statement.‘In the GlobalData report, 60% of AI-aware patients felt very or quite comfortable with AI-equipped healthcare facilities, compared to just 7% among those unfamiliar with AI. #artificialintelligence #ai ’
"Together with the development of a robust regulatory framework, it is imperative to prioritize patient education regarding the technology. This education should aim to enhance comprehension of AI's utilization, its potential advantages, and associated adoption risks, ultimately fostering increased trust in AI. Enhanced knowledge empowers individuals to make informed decisions and mitigate biases linked to this technology," Jakimaviciute added.
The report is based on a survey of 574 patients from India, the US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico between July and August. The survey data also reveals that younger surveyed patients (18-55 years old) were more likely to be familiar with AI than older (56+ years) patients, with more than 50 percent of them rating their knowledge as moderately or very familiar.
Younger generations tend to be introduced to technology earlier in their life and as a result have more knowledge as well as confidence in technologies like AI. "While AI adoption is inevitable, it must be inclusive. Even though younger generations may drive the use and adoption of AI, building a fair and ethical AI system will need intergenerational collaboration,"Jakimaviciute said.
Reference:
- A framework of comfort for practice: An integrative review identifying the multiple influences on patients' experience of comfort in healthcare settings - (https:academic.oup.com/intqhc/article/29/2/151/2910767)