General practitioners are increasingly interested in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of their practice, according to the results of a survey released on Wednesday.
The survey was conducted by the AI and General Medicine Chair at the University of Mons, in collaboration with the Medi-Sphere weekly and AI4Belgium, an organisation that aims to establish a strategy for the use of AI in Belgium. It was done by questionnaire among 240 Belgian doctors, of whom 41.3% were French-speaking and 58.7% Dutch-speaking.
More than 95% of respondents indicated that they had already heard of AI, while 80% said they were interested in the subject.
Dutch-speaking doctors showed significantly higher interest (51.6%) in this technology than French-speaking ones (29.16%), with no difference related to practice environment or any significant impact of age.
“This could be explained by the shortage of doctors in Wallonia, which leaves GPs less time to learn about new technologies,” Dr Giovanni Briganti, holder of the AI Chair at UMons, explained. Less media exposure to this innovation on the French-speaking side could also be at the root of this discrepancy, according to the specialist.
In particular, the sample indicates an interest in the use of AI in certain areas, such as the interpretation of test results, preventive and diagnostic actions, and remote monitoring of patients.
The doctors interviewed remain divided, however, on the impact AI could have in the next five years, and the risks involved in this new technology, such as the dehumanisation of work or the decrease in interest in certain tasks.
“The organisational impact of AI on the daily practice of GPs highlights the need to rethink the organisation of work, distribution of tasks and cooperation between health professionals,” Dr Briganti said.
