Patient and Public Expectation of Healthcare AI

This spring, we have been conducting workshops with our Patient and Public Involvement Panel (PPIP) to understand their expectations and concerns about AI in healthcare. In our most recent workshop, PPIP members worked to review and group their expectations and concerns under broader headings.

The workshops showed that PPIP members have high expectations that AI will transform healthcare for the better and improve access to quality healthcare. It was felt that AI would improve service delivery leading to reduced waiting times and more convenient access to services, perhaps through an increase in remote consultations. There was the expectation that reforms would reduce the cost of healthcare for patients. Among concerns were issues around communication and understanding. How would patients understand the decision making process if it was primarily by AI. Would the AI technologies be able to factor in patient feelings? There was also concern that uneven implementation would lead to improvements in some regions while other areas would lag behind.

The valuable insights we are gaining from our PPIP will help to shape our work in the AIDE Project going forward.