In a recent survey about 67 per cent of patients indicated they would feel more comfortable making appointments for sensitive health issues with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot than a human staff member, suggesting AI could play an important role in breaking down barriers to care for stigmatised health issues.
The US Consumer Healthcare Survey conducted by Talkdesk, a global provider of AI-powered customer experience (CX) technology, found that while the human touch is irreplaceable in many areas of care, AI shows promise in helping patients navigate healthcare complexities more easily and reducing administrative strain on providers.
The survey was conducted in August on the online platform Pollfish and collected the views of 1,000 men and women aged 18 and over.
The survey also showed that the leading positive aspect of healthcare AI chatbots cited by patients was that they don’t judge (48 per cent), followed by they don’t rush patients (38 per cent), and they don’t make them feel stupid if they don’t understand something (36 per cent).
“Healthcare providers are looking to AI as a solution for improving efficiency and reducing complexity within the U.S. healthcare system. While our findings clearly show that patients are ready and eager for AI to assist them in navigating the system and handling administrative tasks, the human touch remains essential for providing medical advice and personal health inquiries,” said Patty Hayward, VP and general manager of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Talkdesk.
“As we move forward, it will be important for healthcare providers to responsibly integrate AI to enhance efficiency and personalisation while maintaining the expertise that human caregivers can provide. This is how the industry can leverage AI to improve the patient journey,” she added.
Moreover, the survey revealed that exactly half of the patients anticipated AI would create a more efficient patient experience because clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals can spend less time on administrative tasks such as writing patient communications, scheduling new appointments, and note-taking.
More than 82 per cent said AI will automate reminders for appointments and medication schedules, while 75 per cent believed it can facilitate better coordination of care among different providers. Additionally, 81 per cent anticipated AI will expedite responses to non-clinical inquiries, such as appointment changes.
About 81 per cent preferred to consult a human for medical advice and 74 per cent wanted to discuss their personal health information with a person rather than an automated agent. This highlights a clear preference for human support in most care delivery areas, as per the survey.
Further, the survey mentioned the top worries patients have about the use of AI in healthcare include inaccuracies in its responses (26 per cent), data privacy issues (24 per cent), and the fear of losing the human touch in caregiving (24 per cent).