Patients Expressed Concerns Over AI in Healthcare
A Wolters Kluwer survey reveals significant patient skepticism regarding data privacy and AI-led clinical decisions.
Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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Do you trust artificial intelligence to provide accurate and safe information about your personal health?
Three-quarters of patients are wary of personal data security when using AI for health, according to a recent survey titled AI and the Patient Experience. The report also highlights that nearly nine out of ten patients demand human oversight for any AI-generated clinical response.
Why it matters
The findings underscore a persistent trust gap that could impede the adoption of diagnostic and informational tools in clinical settings. Understanding these anxieties is critical for health systems balancing administrative efficiency with patient safety requirements.
The survey analyzed responses from 254 patients and 355 healthcare professionals collected by Ipsos. While data privacy and liability concerns were cited by three-quarters of respondents, the technical performance of AI for medication interaction queries remains the primary use case.
The players
Wolters Kluwer Health
A global provider of professional information and software solutions for the clinical and healthcare markets.
Ipsos
A multinational market research and consulting firm specializing in public opinion and behavioral data.
The details
The survey assessed patient perceptions of automated systems designed to process complex medical queries, such as investigating drug interactions or medication side effects. These tools typically utilize Large Language Models (LLMs) — deep learning architectures trained on vast datasets to generate human-like text — to parse medical literature. Despite the utility of these models for rapid information retrieval, the report clarifies that patient trust hinges on the presence of a human practitioner to validate outputs.
Timeline
Ipsos conducted the Future Ready Healthcare Survey in March 2026.
Wolters Kluwer Health released the final report on September 29, 2026.
The Tech Race
This study complements the current regulatory focus on technical accuracy by quantifying the significant public sentiment barriers that remain. It illustrates the disconnect between the rapid deployment of health-tech tools and the patient-level acceptance necessary for widespread adoption.
Patients should anticipate that clinical AI tools will likely remain secondary to traditional practitioner review for the foreseeable future due to these trust concerns. Those using digital health assistants should verify whether any provided AI responses have been reviewed by a medical professional.
The takeaway
The gap between AI capability and patient trust is currently a primary obstacle to digital health integration. Stakeholders should monitor upcoming healthcare industry guidance on algorithmic transparency to see if standardized disclosure practices shift patient sentiment.
Further reading
For broader context on how medical tools are being deployed, visit the Artificial Intelligence section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Knowledgespeak.
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Do you trust artificial intelligence to provide accurate and safe information about your personal health?
