AI Is Reshaping How Patients Make Healthcare Decisions, Survey Finds

Key Takeaways:

• A majority of US patients now research their symptoms before deciding whether to book an appointment, with AI and search engines central to that process.
  
• Researchers frame the trend as a global one, driven less by the availability of technology than by mounting frustration with slow, fragmented care.
  
• The report urges providers to redesign care pathways and deploy their own AI tools to extend capacity and keep patients engaged.
  
  
  

Patients are researching before they reach the clinic

Patients are increasingly taking charge of their own healthcare with artificial intelligence and other digital tools, with 58% of US patients researching their symptoms before deciding whether to book an appointment, according to a new report from the ZS Impact Institute.

The report drew on insights from nearly 10,000 healthcare consumers and providers across the US, Germany and China. Researchers note that the shift is consistent across healthcare systems – a pattern they say points to a “broader breakdown in how patients seek and experience care globally.”

Search engines and AI have become first ports of call

The report found that self-directed research is now routine, and that people who turn to online tools tend to rate them highly. Thirty-seven percent of US respondents report using search engines for health information, 94% of whom find it helpful. Eighteen percent report using AI, and 89% of those describe it as helpful.

The behaviour extends well beyond pre-appointment research. Fifty-two percent of US patients report requesting specific medications, and 68% of providers report seeing an increase in patients requesting therapies by name.

For clinicians, that means fielding more informed – and increasingly AI-shaped – questions in the consulting room. Continuing professional development providers have begun to respond to the trend: the College of Contemporary Health, for example, offers a short CPD course, AI Essentials for GPs, developed to help doctors evaluate AI tools critically and respond with confidence when patients raise them.

Frustration, not just availability, is driving the shift

The report is explicit that the move towards AI “cannot be attributed to availability alone.” Instead, it reflects “growing consumer frustration with healthcare” – a frustration the survey data lays out in some detail.

Forty-five percent of US patients avoid seeing a doctor until they are already unwell, and 41% have not had a health check-up in three or more years. Thirty-six percent wait a year or more for a diagnosis. Once treatment begins, adherence falters: 29% do not take treatments as prescribed, and 54% stop treatments prematurely.

Access is part of the picture too. Thirty-eight percent of respondents report lacking a primary care doctor, and 30% say that diagnostic delays led to a worsening of their medical condition.

What the report recommends

Researchers set out a range of recommendations for leaders across pharma, payers, medtech and providers. For providers in particular, the report suggests redesigning care pathways and using AI to extend both capacity and continuity of care.

Jon Roffman, ZS principal and lead contributor, framed the challenge as one of a system struggling to keep pace with the people it serves.

“Patients are changing faster than the system designed to serve them,” Roffman said in a statement. “AI has put medical knowledge directly in patients’ hands, but the healthcare system still assumes patients will come to it first. That model has changed. Patients are more informed and empowered. To keep them engaged, the system must reduce friction with its own set of AI and technology tools to deliver more connected, supportive care.”

CCH insight

Patients are already walking into consultations with AI-shaped questions and specific therapies in mind. AI Essentials for GPs: Tools, Ethics and Everyday Applications is a three-hour, CPD-accredited short course – created by Prof. Mike Bewick and Dr Dipesh Naik – that gives doctors the frameworks to evaluate AI tools safely, meet NHS governance standards and know exactly what to say when a patient asks. It carries 3.5 CPD hours towards appraisal and revalidation.

Explore AI Essentials for GPs →