{"id":173449,"date":"2025-12-03T20:16:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T20:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/173449\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T20:16:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T20:16:08","slug":"from-taboo-to-tool-30-of-gps-in-uk-use-ai-tools-in-patient-consultations-study-finds-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/173449\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018From taboo to tool\u2019: 30% of GPs in UK use AI tools in patient consultations, study finds | Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost three in 10 GPs<\/a> in the UK are using AI tools such as ChatGPT in consultations with patients, even though it could lead to them making mistakes and being sued, a study reveals.<\/p>\n

The rapid adoption of AI to ease workloads is happening alongside a \u201cwild west\u201d lack of regulation of the technology, which is leaving GPs unaware which tools are safe to use. That is the conclusion of research by the Nuffield Trust thinktank, based on a survey of 2,108 family doctors by the Royal College of GPs about AI and on focus groups of GPs.<\/p>\n

Ministers hope that AI can help reduce the delays patients face in seeing a GP.<\/p>\n

The study found that more and more GPs were using AI to produce summaries of appointments with patients, assisting their diagnosis of the patient\u2019s condition and routine administrative tasks.<\/p>\n

In all, 598 (28%) of the 2,108 survey respondents said they were already using AI. More male (33%) than female (25%) GPs have used it and far more use it in well-off than in poorer areas.<\/p>\n

It is moving quickly into more widespread use. However, large majorities of GPs, whether they use it or not, worry that practices that adopt it could face \u201cprofessional liability and medico-legal issues\u201d, and \u201crisks of clinical errors\u201d and problems of \u201cpatient privacy and data security\u201d as a result, the Nuffield Trust\u2019s report says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is pinning its hopes on the potential of AI to transform the NHS<\/a>. But there is a huge chasm between policy ambitions and the current disorganised reality of how AI is being rolled out and used in general practice\u201d, said Dr Becks Fisher, a GP who is the thinktank\u2019s director of research and policy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very hard for GPs to feel confident about using AI when they\u2019re faced with a wild west of tools which are unregulated at a national level in the NHS\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n

While some NHS regional integrated care boards back GPs using AI, others ban it.<\/p>\n

In a blow to ministerial hopes, the survey also found that GPs use the time it saves them to recover from the stresses of their busy days rather than to see more patients. \u201cWhile policymakers hope that this saved time will be used to offer more appointments, GPs reported using it primarily for self-care and rest, including reducing overtime working hours to prevent burnout\u201d, the report adds.<\/p>\n

A separate study<\/a> of how family doctors in the UK are using AI published last month in the journal Digital Health involved similar findings. It found that the proportion using AI had risen from 20% to 25% over the previous year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn just 12 months, generative AI has gone from taboo to tool in British medicine\u201d, said Dr Charlotte Blease of Uppsala university in Sweden, the lead author of the research.<\/p>\n

Like the Nuffield Trust, she highlighted lack of regulation as a key concern, especially given the speed at which GPs are incorporating AI into their clinical practice. \u201cThe real risk isn\u2019t that GPs are using AI. It\u2019s that they\u2019re doing it without training or oversight,\u201d Blease said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is already being used in everyday medicine. The challenge now is to ensure it\u2019s deployed safely, ethically and openly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing numbers of patients were also using AI to improve their healthcare, including when they could not get a GP appointment, Healthwatch England said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur recent research shows that while patients continue to trust the NHS for health information, around one in 10 (9%) are using AI tools for information on staying healthy\u201d, said Chris McCann, the patient watchdog\u2019s deputy chief executive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are various reasons people may turn to AI tools, including when they cannot access GP services. However, the quality of the advice from AI tools is inconsistent. For example, one person received advice from an AI tool that confused shingles with Lyme disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

A commission launched by the government in September, on how to ensure that AI is used in a safe, effective and properly regulated way, will make recommendations when it reports.<\/p>\n

The Department of Health and Social Care was approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Almost three in 10 GPs in the UK are using AI tools such as ChatGPT in consultations with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[220,218,219,61,60,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-173449","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}