The pros and cons of AI in healthcare: what clinicians and patients say

Oct 09, 2026 | 3 minute read

Artificial intelligence (AI) Feature story

By the Philips Editorial Team

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A team of writers, editors and visual designers covering the latest trends and developments in healthcare, focusing on the role of innovation, design and sustainability in improving health outcomes.

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At a glance

The 2026 Philips Future Health Index shows that AI is already helping clinicians work more efficiently and make faster decisions, but some have concerns about the lack of transparency of AI systems and the risk of human skill erosion.
Patients are increasingly using AI for health guidance, which can help them feel more informed but may also require clinicians to correct misinformation.
A responsible approach to AI keeps clinical judgment and patient trust at the centre of care.

Clinicians are already seeing tangible benefits from using AI in their day-to-day work, while patients increasingly turn to AI for health guidance. But concerns about inaccuracies and lack of transparency around the use of AI remain, underlining the importance of a safe and responsible approach to AI in healthcare that builds trust with clinicians and patients.

A physician having a conversation with a patient

These are among the key findings from the 2026 Philips Future Health Index global report, the largest global survey of its kind analyzing the perspectives of over 2,000 healthcare professionals and 20,000 patients across 10 countries. The findings show that clinicians and patients see both the pros and cons of AI in healthcare, calling for safeguards that help them reap the benefits of AI in healthcare while mitigating its risks and limitations.

Here are some of the pros and cons identified in the Future Health Index report – and how a responsible approach can help navigate both:

The pros of AI in healthcare

This year’s Future Health Index shows that, where AI is being used in healthcare, it’s already having a real impact.

1. AI can help make clinical workflows more efficient

Seventy-one percent of clinicians in the 2026 Philips Future Health Index say AI has made their workflow more efficient, and 64% say they spend less time on routine or administrative tasks than before.

These efficiencies can create more room for the work that calls for clinical expertise, whether it’s thinking through complex cases or spending time with patients. One in two clinicians report an improved work-life balance from using AI, suggesting it may help take some of the pressure off overstretched teams.

2. AI can help increase capacity for patient care

Time saved can also help expand capacity. Fifty percent of clinicians say AI has increased their capacity to treat patients. Among those who report an increase, the median gain is eight additional patients per week.

For healthcare organizations facing staff shortages and rising demand, that additional capacity can help them diagnose and treat more patients. For example, one hospital in India has been able to scan up to 20 more patients daily after introducing AI-enabled applications into its CT workflows.

3. AI can support faster diagnostic decisions

New efficiencies from AI can benefit clinicians and patients in other ways too. Sixty-seven percent of clinicians say AI has enabled them to make diagnostic decisions faster. For patients, faster decisions can mean less time waiting for answers.

Especially in areas such as medical imaging, AI can help clinicians review large volumes of information and flag findings that may need closer attention. These benefits are the greatest when AI in radiology is designed around radiologists’ needs and embedded in the workflow.

4. AI can give care teams a more complete view of the patient

AI can also help ensure that diagnostic decisions draw on a more complete view of the patient. Fifty-seven percent of clinicians say AI has improved their access to consolidated patient data across care teams.

By bringing relevant information together, AI-enabled integrated diagnostics can reduce the need to search across separate systems and make it easier for clinicians to base decisions on the full patient record, supporting more personalized treatment plans.

5. AI can help patients prepare for conversations about their health

Clinicians are not the only ones benefiting from AI. Patients are increasingly using it for health guidance, with 60% saying it has helped them recognize when they should see a doctor. Yet how patients feel about AI in healthcare depends heavily on their familiarity with it: 70% of patients who regularly use AI are optimistic that it can improve healthcare, compared with 32% of those who do not use it at all.

The cons of AI in healthcare

While AI can support clinicians and patients in many ways, it also comes with risks that require an intentional and responsible approach.

1. AI can make mistakes

Despite the potential of AI tools to help guide patients to the appropriate professional care, AI can generate misinformation too. Clinicians are understandably concerned. Sixty-nine percent of them surveyed in the 2026 Philips Future Health Index say they have had to correct AI-generated misinformation brought to them by patients.

That concern extends to the AI technology they use themselves: 66% worry about AI making errors, which could cloud their judgment. Fifty-eight percent are also concerned about inconsistent performance of AI across clinical settings, as algorithms developed on training data in one setting may not generalize to another.

2. AI recommendations can be difficult to explain

Another potential issue is that AI-based systems may produce a recommendation or identify a pattern without making it clear how they arrived at that conclusion. This can make it harder for clinicians to judge how much weight to give the output. In fact, the Future Health Index shows that 60% of clinicians are concerned about a lack of transparency in how AI applications reach their recommendations.

A 2026 scoping review of 16 studies found that healthcare professionals mainly use explanations to check whether an AI recommendation makes sense to them. They preferred concise, patient-specific information. Complex technical visualizations could be confusing and add to their cognitive burden in busy clinical settings [1].

3. Overreliance on AI could erode clinical skills

As healthcare professionals come to rely more on AI, will they still have enough opportunities to cultivate their own clinical judgment? Many clinicians are already asking themselves the same question. Forty-four percent worry that overreliance on AI in clinical practice could lead to a loss of human skills.

That worry is not entirely theoretical: one study found that clinicians’ detection of precancerous growths during unaided procedures fell after they began using AI assistance [2]. Some have argued that early-career clinicians, who are still building experience, may be particularly affected because they have fewer opportunities to develop their own human expertise and clinical judgment [3].

4. A lack of transparency in AI use can undermine patient trust

Patients want to know when AI is involved in their care: 89% say they should be told when it is used, while 39% of clinicians say they have seen patients lose trust after discovering that AI was involved. For some patients, learning about its use after the fact may be unsettling. Explaining AI’s role in patient care before it is used gives clinicians an opportunity to answer questions and make it clear that they remain in charge.

Taking a responsible approach to healthcare AI

Taken together, these pros and cons of AI in healthcare highlight the importance of taking a responsible approach to AI that builds trust with clinicians and patients.

That’s why companies like Philips have developed AI principles to guide the design, development, deployment and monitoring of AI-enabled solutions. These principles include maintaining human oversight, safety and transparency, helping to ensure that qualified professionals can review critical decisions and remain accountable for them.

As AI adoption in healthcare continues to grow, putting these principles into practice requires looking beyond the technology itself. A responsible approach to AI in healthcare also needs to consider the professional context in which it is implemented and how it affects the relationship between clinicians and patients. And as the Future Health Index illustrates, that starts with listening to their needs and concerns.

Download the full 2026 Philips Future Health Index global report for more survey findings

References:

[1] Van Dort B.A., Engelsma T., Sneekes P., Peute L, Medlock S. Explainable AI in hospital clinical decision support systems: A scoping review of healthcare professionals’ perspectives. PLOS Digital Health. 2026;5(5):e0001417. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pdig.0001417
[2] Endoscopist deskilling risk after exposure to artificial intelligence in colonoscopy: a multicentre, observational study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Oct;10(10):896-903. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(25)00133-5. Epub 2025 Aug 12.
[3] Keren R, Desai BR, West DC. Promoting Clinical Expertise in the Age of AI: No Struggle, No Mastery. JAMA. 2026;335(21):1837–1838. doi:10.1001/jama.2026.6097