The Nuffield Trust and Royal College of General Practitioners have analysed focus groups and the largest survey to date on how GPs are using AI.
The poll, responded to by more than 2,100 GPs, found that 13% of GPs use AI tools provided by their practice, 11% are using tools they have obtained independently, while 4% use a combination of both.
Tools are being used for a wide range of tasks, including producing clinical notes and referral letters, triaging patients based on clinical need, and helping trainees with learning and assessments.
The report shows that regulation and training around AI in general practice isn't happening fast enough and suggests the pace at which it's being adopted is clashing with slow NHS bureaucracy.
Other findings include:
- The benefits of AI in general practice are not being realised equally, raising concerns that current adoption patterns may actually worsen existing inequalities. Of the 1,046 GPs who said they worked in more deprived areas, just over a quarter (27%) said they used AI tools compared to over a third (35%) of the 467 GPs who said they worked in more affluent areas.
- Male GPs were significantly more likely to use AI than female GPs: of the 848 Male GPs who responded to the survey, a third (33%) said they used AI. This compared to a quarter (25%) of the 1,184 female GPs. Male GPs were also significantly more likely to use self-provided AI tools in their work (15%) than female respondents (8%).
- Of the 597 GPs who answered questions about how they use AI, 57% said they were using it for clinical documentation and note-taking, 45% for professional development and 44% for administrative tasks.
- GPs at all career stages expressed concerns about patient safety, professional liability, data privacy and patient consent, the doctor-patient relationship, and digital exclusion. Notably, the 1,432 non-users were consistently the most concerned about these factors.
- A lack of regulatory oversight was raised as a concern by the majority (84%) of GPs, something the authors suggest is a deterrent for the two-thirds of respondents saying they are not using AI at all.
The analysis finds GP use of AI currently depends too heavily on a postcode lottery of local policies developed by their practice, primary care networks and ICBs. GPs often have to make decisions about which tools to use based on peer experience or direct-marketing from AI companies.
The report sets out clear actions for policymakers, technology companies and GP practices to ensure AI is used safely and effectively. These include urgently establishing consistent national guidance, improving training, reducing AI inaccuracies, and supporting practices to test and share learning.
Nuffield Trust director of research and policy and practising GP, Dr Becks Fisher, said: 'The government is pinning its hopes on the potential of AI to transform the NHS, 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.
'It is very hard for GPs to feel confident about using AI when they're facing a wild west of tools which are unregulated at a national level in the NHS. At the moment, many GP surgeries are left to decide for themselves how to use AI and there is a huge range of different tools and possible uses, from AI listening in to appointments and creating notes, to analysing patients' online requests to help with prioritising them based on medical urgency. Guidance for GPs from their local NHS oversight bodies about what tools are appropriate to use and safe for patients is also incredibly patchy.
'We have uncovered some clear reasons for optimism about how AI is helping GPs save time at work, but that comes alongside worrying variation in how different groups of GPs are using it. This could be yet another way that health inequalities are being baked in, precisely when the government aims to reduce disparities in general practice.'
Prof Victoria Tzortziou-Brown, chair of the Royal College of GPs, added: 'AI clearly has the potential to dramatically change the way healthcare is delivered for the better - but using AI in practice is certainly not without risk, with patient safety and data protection at stake if robust safeguards and regulation are not in place.
'If AI is going to help GPs deliver high-quality care for patients, it is paramount that there is further investment into modern IT systems, consistent national policy and regulations, and the right support so that practices can adopt new technologies safely and effectively.'
