Patient comfort with AI-driven health care hinges on provider oversight
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More than half of patients (56%) are comfortable with artificial intelligence (AI) making diagnosis or treatment decisions when their health care provider can change or override them, but that figure falls to just 9% when AI makes those decisions without provider review, according to new data from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America. The nationally representative survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults found similar patterns in patient comfort with AI used to interpret diagnostic images or make medication decisions.
In a separate survey of more than 1,000 health care providers, nearly nine in 10 (89%) report using AI for work in the past year, but only 20% report receiving any formal AI training. Training rates varied considerably by practice setting, from 30% of providers in hospitals or health system practices to 16% in provider groups and just 11% in independent practices.
The survey also revealed providers underestimate how comfortable their patients are with AI. When AI makes diagnosis and treatment decisions that a provider can override, 56% of patients say they would be comfortable, but only 36% of providers believe most of their patients would be, a 20-percentage-point gap. That comfort collapses when the provider is removed, with just 9% saying they would be comfortable with AI making diagnosis and treatment decisions without provider review.
"AI has enormous potential to improve health care, but patients are sending a clear message that they are not afraid of using the technology and want their providers involved, not replaced," said Timothy Lash, president and chair of the West Health Policy Center in Washington, D.C. "This makes it critical that providers have the training to use it effectively and patients have trust in how AI is being used to guide medical decisions."
Provider oversight, not replacement, drives patient comfort
Patients were asked about their comfort with AI in three areas of clinical care—diagnosis and treatment, imaging review and medication decisions—under three levels of provider involvement:
- AI assists: AI provides recommendations, but the health care provider makes the final decision.
- AI decides, with provider oversight: Provider can change or override AI decisions.
- AI decides independently: AI makes the decision without provider review.
About half of patients say they are comfortable when AI makes decisions subject to a provider override (53% for imaging and 49% for medications) or when AI assists and the provider decides (52% and 45%, respectively). Without provider review, comfort drops to 13% for reviewing diagnostic images and 11% for medication decisions.
The preference for provider engagement extends even among patients most receptive to AI for health care. Of the 39% of patients who have used AI to gather physical or mental health information or advice in the past year, over half are comfortable with AI assisting their provider, but only 12% to 16% are comfortable with clinical advice from AI without that assistance. Similarly, among the 23% of patients who trust AI-generated health information, 65% to 71% say they are comfortable with its use in clinical care when a provider provides oversight, compared with just 18% to 20% who are comfortable without provider review.
AI use outpaces training as providers gauge patient comfort
AI is already routinely used in primary care, mostly for gathering information about medications (78%) or symptoms and conditions (76%). More than half (53%) have used it to review patient-specific information, such as test results or imaging, while 50% have used it to write clinical notes. Nearly half have used AI to prepare patient instructions or after-visit summaries (49%), summarize or retrieve information from medical records (47%) or record and transcribe patient appointments (45%).
"These findings suggest reason for optimism about the role of AI in health care," said Joe Daly, global managing partner at Gallup. "The data show that patients are open to AI having a role in their care, particularly when they know a clinician can still step in. As AI becomes more integrated into health care, understanding where patients are comfortable with its use versus where they still value human oversight will be critical."
Methodology
For results from patients: Results are based on a Gallup Panel study conducted Aug. 12–24, 2026, with 5,330 U.S. adults, aged 18 and older, who are members of the Gallup Panel. Gallup uses probability-based, random sampling methods to recruit its panel members.
For results based on the total sample, the margin of sampling error is ±1.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
For results from providers: Results are based on a nonprobability opt-in panel study conducted Aug. 7–23, 2026, with 1,007 U.S. adults, aged 18 and older. All surveys were conducted as web surveys and in English. Respondents without internet access were not covered by this study.
For results based on the total sample, the credibility interval is ±3.3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
More information
Providers Underestimate Patient Comfort With AI in Care, news.gallup.com/poll/716261/pa … der-involvement.aspx
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Artificial Intelligence Provided by West Health Institute Who's behind this story?
Gaby Clark
MA in English, copy editor since 2021 with experience in higher education and health content. Dedicated to trustworthy science news. Full profile →
Andrew Zinin
Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →
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