Dive Brief:
- Artificial intelligence is a promising technology for health system leaders, but many executives struggle to trust AI products and safely implement them, according to a survey published Tuesday by healthcare consultancy Sage Growth Partners.
- More than 80% of surveyed C-suite hospital and health system executives said AI could improve clinical decision making, while 75% said the tools could reduce operational costs by improving efficiency.
- But just 13% agreed that their organization had a clear strategy for integrating AI into clinical workflows. Additionally, only 12% said AI algorithms were robust enough to rely on.
Dive Insight:
Healthcare leaders have high hopes for AI’s impact on the sector, hoping the technology could help solve workforce shortages, a heavy burden of administrative tasks and the problem of inaccessible healthcare data.
More than 40% of executives in the Sage Growth report said AI was a top trend to watch in the industry in the next two years, according to the survey, which included more than 100 hospital and health system leaders.
Additionally, nearly all respondents said it could help combat staffing issues, reduce burnout among workers and improve employee retention — key challenges for an industry facing increased labor costs and a disaffected workforce.
But AI isn’t easy to implement. Setting up governance structures takes expertise and time, while algorithms need to be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure they continue to perform up to standards. Plus, incorrect, misleading or biased outputs from AI tools are a high risk in healthcare, potentially causing patient harm.
Half of executives said appropriate use of AI was among their three greatest challenges.
Nearly 70% completely or somewhat agreed that data privacy and security concerns are a major barrier to AI adoption. Meanwhile, 36% completely or somewhat agreed there was too much bias in clinical data sets to rely on AI for clinical use cases.
“While the potential of AI is undeniable — especially in areas like clinical decision support and operational efficiency — executives are rightly concerned about data quality, bias, and regulatory uncertainties,” Stephanie Kovalick, chief strategy officer at Sage Growth Partners, said in a statement. “The stakes are too high for missteps.”
Leaders taking a cautious approach to health AI
Many health systems and hospitals are taking a cautious approach, according to the survey. While about two-thirds of respondents said they were investing in AI to streamline administrative operations or enhance patient care, only 10% said they were “aggressively” pursuing AI products.
