A Doximity 2026 survey of more than 3,100 physicians found 54% now use AI in clinical practice, signaling that the technology has moved into routine care rather than limited pilots.
Among doctors already using AI, 74% said they use it daily, with literature search the most common task and ambient documentation tools a major driver of adoption.
Research cited in the report suggests those scribes can cut burnout—one study of 1,400 healthcare workers found a 21% drop—though more than 40% of clinicians still had to substantially edit AI-generated notes.
AI is also expanding into diagnosis and treatment support: OpenAI's o1 reached accurate or near-accurate emergency diagnoses 67% of the time, while fracture-detection systems posted 96% shoulder and 97% hip accuracy in one study.
Doctors interviewed said the gains still depend on human oversight and strong IT deployment, warning that hallucinations, workflow disruption, security needs and under-resourced implementation remain major barriers.