AI use among docs sees big jump: AMA survey

Modern Healthcare – Wednesday, February 12, 2025
By Brock E.W. Turner

A growing number of physicians are using artificial intelligence but many still don’t fully trust the technology.

The American Medical Association published a survey Wednesday that found 66% of clinicians reported using AI last year, which was up from 38% in 2023. Respondents not using AI dropped dramatically from 62% in 2023 to just 33% in 2024.

AMA noted the jump in clinician adoption was “unusually fast” for AI. Clinicians said the technology is useful for tasks like documentation of visit notes and the creation of discharge instructions, care plans or progress notes. In 2024, around one in five physicians reported using AI for documentation of billing codes, medical charts or visit notes.

A sizable number of companies have spun up in recent years seeking to turn recordings of a doctor-patient conversations into usable clinical notes. More than half of physicians, 54% of respondents, said AI would be somewhat or very helpful in reducing burnout, a common selling point from vendors selling AI tools like ambient scribes.

Despite reporting higher use of AI, AMA said physicians do not fully trust the technology. One quarter of physicians were more concerned than excited about the tools while 40% reported feeling equally excited and concerned about the increased use of AI.

Nearly half of clinicians (47%) surveyed by AMA said governing bodies like the Food and Drug Administration could increase their trust with additional oversight of AI-enabled medical devices.

Outside of a few states passing specific health AI bills, legislators have not kept up with development leading the industry to create its own guidelines. Congressional leaders from both the Senate and House of Representatives have conducted hearings to learn how insurers and providers use AI, but they have not passed significant legislation to regulate it. In December, a House Bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence issued a comprehensive report outlining policy recommendations for AI in healthcare.

The survey of more than 1,100 clinicians was conducted in November. The 2024 survey aimed to replicate results from a similar AMA physician sentiment survey from December 2023.

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