Nearly half of physicians strongly oppose patients using AI to interpret radiology or pathology results without physician involvement, according to a 2026 survey from the American Medical Association (AMA).
The annual Physician Survey on Augmented Intelligence, conducted by the AMA's Center for Digital Health and AI, found that more than 81% of physicians now use AI in their practices, more than double the 38% rate recorded in 2023. The average number of AI use cases per physician rose from 1.1 in 2023 to 2.3 in 2026, with medical research summarization and clinical documentation the most common applications.
Meanwhile, 46% and 49% of physicians said they would never or rarely want patients using AI to interpret radiology or pathology results, respectively.
More than three-quarters of physicians believe AI improves their ability to care for patients, up from 65% in 2023, the survey found. However, 88% expressed concern about potential skill loss, particularly among those with 10 years or less in practice, and 40% described balanced attitudes that were equally excited and concerned about the technology. Data privacy (86%) and safety and efficacy validation (88%) were cited as critical factors for broader AI adoption.
The full survey can be found here.
![A normal mammogram confirmed by three-year radiologic follow-up illustrates reader-marked regions of interest (ROIs) during (A) unaided (round 1) and (B) artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted (round 2) reading. Each colored dot represents an ROI for recall by a human reader. Readers could mark more than one ROI per case, represented by multiple dots of the same color. During AI-assisted reading, the AI system displayed three visible prompts: two with suspicion of malignancy scores of 35% (left mediolateral oblique [L MLO] and craniocaudal [L CC]) and one with a suspicion of malignancy score of 10% (right craniocaudal [R CC]), shown as polygonal overlays. Without AI, six of 10 readers (60%) marked a false-positive ROI. With AI assistance, this fell to two of 10 (20%). R MLO = right mediolateral oblique.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/07/2026-07-14-radiology-mammogram-ai-auto-bias.H0bYO8QlWs.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
