Experts Urge Patients to Ask Doctors About AI Use as 80% of US Physicians Adopt It
Updated
Updated · Vox.com · Jul 30
Experts Urge Patients to Ask Doctors About AI Use as 80% of US Physicians Adopt It
3 articles · Updated · Vox.com · Jul 30
Summary
More than 80% of US doctors now use AI professionally—double the 2023 share—prompting experts to tell patients to ask directly whether AI is involved in their care and how.
Just 8% of Americans told KFF in October 2025 they had a great deal of trust in AI handling appointments or records, and only 32% said they would trust an AI health tool accessing medical records.
Experts say the key safeguard is keeping a “human in the loop,” with doctors and nurses using AI for note-taking, scheduling, second opinions and risk monitoring rather than replacing clinical judgment.
Patients are advised to ask how their data is protected, whether they can opt out, when consent is required—especially for AI note-taking—and how a clinic checks that AI systems work as intended.
AI adoption remains highly localized across doctors and health systems, making transparency and shared decision-making central as hospitals expand the technology.