Although AI can help support diagnosis, impact personalised treatment, enhance patient engagement and can be used to model care coordination, it remains imperative that healthcare professionals understand how a patient perceives technology and how AI may come to influence their care.
Several doctors may experience overconfidence, meaning there is more reliability and trust on the diagnosis that is performed by technology. However, this kind of automation bias might have an impact on the doctor-patient relationship. Even if technology is not meant to perform certain tasks, clinicians tend to attribute other tasks to because it is vastly trusted, but this might affect the whole care process.
We need to ensure that clinicians do not lose their ability to perform tasks without AI support. Although the implementation of new technology may make the process faster, it can also prologue a process as it catalyzes any uncertainties about AI implementations, which can lead to further discussions and delays surrounding final decisions.
Lastly, patients may not understand the role of AI and its usage can reduce their perception of doctors’ authority and competence. It is therefore important to acknowledge that it is not about competence, but about how patients perceive AI. Clinicians must become more sensitive to this type of issue to properly use AI, as well as to gain patient approval and confidence.
References:
Triberti S (2023) European Society of Radiology (ECR). ECR Austria.
