One of the constant companions to technological advances is the fear that increased reliance on technology will lead to a diminished role for humans, and the rise of AI in healthcare has been no different.

But according to the results of a recent survey by the MIT Technology Review and GE Healthcare, those fears are largely overstated.  To the contrary, according to the survey of more than 900 healthcare professionals in the U.S. and U.K., nearly half of medical professionals surveyed said AI is already increasing their ability to spend time with and provide care to patients.

Moreover, seven out of 10 providers are considering adopting or have already adopted AI, oand of those who have nearly 80 percent said their investment has helped drive workflow improvements, streamline operational and administrative activities and deliver significant efficiencies.

“Of any industry, AI could have the most profound benefits on human lives if we can effectively harness it across the healthcare system,” Kieran Murphy, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, which commissioned the survey, said in a statement. “As this research shows, we are already beginning to see its progressive effect – with AI not only fueling efficiencies within health systems, but also truly evolving the healthcare experience for medical professionals and patients.”

Among the survey’s other findings: 

• Nearly 60 percent of respondents report AI will let them focus more on preventive medicine as a result of better prediction capabilities, and almost half indicate it will enable more robust diagnoses.
• Nearly 80 percent said AI has been instrumental in removing workplace barriers and reducing employee burnout.
• Additionally, nearly 70 percent said that, since implementing AI technology, they have spent more time collaborating with other staff and across clinical areas, a practice that could ultimately lead to major improvements in care quality and precision medicine.

Despite the enthusiasm, respondents also pointed out some remaining hurdles.  For example, the report noted, “machines must work for doctors and clinicians, not the other way around; much patient consultation time is spent entering data, not drawing inference from it.”

More importantly, “healthcare organizations must allow for fundamental shifts in how patients are cared for—doctors and other health-care workers must leverage increasingly comprehensive pools of AI-mediated medical data to make decisions in collaboration with machines.”