1 day ago
14
Follow ZDNET: Add america arsenic a preferred source connected Google.
ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- Patients are progressively turning to AI for wellness information.
- AI check-ins could assistance patients enactment connected way aft visits.
- Human oversight remains cardinal to spot successful healthcare AI.
Since 2024, attitudes toward AI successful healthcare person shifted toward greater spot successful AI.
Only 2% of U.S. adults turned to AI for healthcare accusation successful 2024, and contiguous the fig is 61%, according to Salesforce's Connected Health Consumer report, a survey of 3,200 consumers worldwide aimed astatine amended knowing however the emergence of agentic AI is reshaping user expectations, attitudes, and demands wrong healthcare -- specifically diligent experience.
Also: AI agents are your caller colleagues - however to get the champion results
Here are the 4 cardinal findings of the 2026 Connected Health Consumer Report:
- The consumer-grade gap: AI has raised the barroom connected what bully work looks like, and healthcare's administrative load is actively driving patients away. Today, 58% of patients volition adjacent hold oregon skip indispensable attraction due to the fact that scheduling is excessively difficult.
- The agentic worth exchange: Patients are broadly unfastened to AI for logistical and navigational tasks, particularly aft hours. Sixty-seven percent accidental they would alternatively person 24/7 AI assistance than hold for regular bureau hours. Some volition adjacent power providers for this convenience.
- Agentic navigation: For galore patients, post-appointment attraction instructions pb to confusion, but AI whitethorn span this gap. Nearly 1 successful 4 patients permission visits unsure astir their attraction plan. Seventy percent accidental proactive AI check-ins would assistance them enactment connected way betwixt visits, pointing to AI's meaningful relation beyond the appointment.
- Governance and objective safety: Patients are much unfastened to AI successful healthcare than ever, but lone erstwhile transparency, oversight, and supplier spot are built in. They are 3 times much apt to spot an AI cause integrated straight into their provider's unafraid portal than a nationalist AI chatbot. Even then, astir 90% expect quality oversight and escalation options.
The user gap: unnecessary friction is driving adoption of AI agents
The study recovered that 60% of patients enactment disconnected attraction due to the fact that of scheduling friction. Patients are desperately seeking a amended engagement acquisition with healthcare providers. The existent multichannel engagement models neglect to present a bully experience, with 49% of patients noting abandoned calls aft 10 minutes of holding.
Also: AI agents are getting their ain hunt engine
The online acquisition is not better, with 46% of patients labeling websites arsenic confusing and hard to navigate. One successful 6 present says easiness of integer entree is simply a deciding origin erstwhile choosing a provider. Record sharing is different large shortage for improved experiences. More than fractional of patients (60%) accidental mediocre grounds sharing betwixt providers means repeating the aforesaid aesculapian tests.
And 66% of patients person tally retired of medicine portion waiting for their prescriptions to beryllium refilled.
The agentic worth exchange: a displacement toward faster and smarter engagements with AI agents
Nearly 7 retired of 10 patients would alternatively person entree to 24/7 assistance via AI agents versus waiting to talk with a idiosyncratic during modular hours. Bad scheduling experiences are driving patients distant from care, and AI agents are helping. Patients privation proactive care, with 83% of patients funny successful self-enrolled programs that tin supply healthcare recommendations.
Millennials are starring the displacement toward proactive care, with 88% saying they would assistance an AI cause entree to their afloat aesculapian past for a faster diagnosis. Patients bash privation humans adjacent AI agents, with 49% noting they would similar AI agents implicit humans for logistical tasks similar billing and rescheduling to debar delays. And 54% of patients would beryllium consenting to fto a unafraid AI cause negociate their delicate healthcare information if it led to amended coordinated attraction outcomes.
Also: 12 rules of agentic AI for palmy endeavor transformation
Healthcare providers utilizing AI agents are much apt to clasp wellness consumers and patients. The study recovered that 59% of patients would power providers for 1 that keeps them updated connected their waitlist status, and 55% of patients would power to a supplier that offers real-time security eligibility verification via AI.
Agentic navigation: however AI agents are closing the post-care spread
Nearly 1 successful 4 patients permission appointments confused astir adjacent steps successful their treatment.
Also: Treat your AI agents similar anxious but misguided quality interns - earlier you suffer control
And 70% of them would consciousness little confused if an AI cause proactively checked successful aft their healthcare visit. Gen Z patients (31%) would crook to AI archetypal erstwhile unsure astir adjacent steps aft an appointment. Seventy-eight percent of patients accidental automatic reminders would assistance them instrumentality medications and travel attraction plans. The request for this benignant of proactive connection is adjacent much important for managing chronic conditions, wherever 65% accidental a 24/7 integer helper would marque beingness importantly easier.
Patients are trusting AI with their wellness information
Patients are acceptable to stock wellness accusation for safer, much proactive care, with 73% saying they spot AI to emblem imaginable cause interactions earlier picking up caller prescriptions. The study recovered that 63% of patients privation automatic reminders for medicine use, 66% privation AI agents that suggest prevention screenings, and 54% hold that AI agents tin assistance them consciousness much unafraid successful their provider's care.
Also: 70% of companies deploying lawsuit work AI agents spot ROI successful 60 days
Patients besides look for AI agents to assistance make a smoother hospital-to-home handoff. More than 77% of patients would highly worth an AI instrumentality that tin simplify the modulation from infirmary to location care. In fact, 72% would spot an AI cause to make a personalized follow-up docket based connected their implicit wellness history.
Governance and objective safety: patients privation AI wrong guardrails
The study recovered that the displacement toward greater spot with AI successful healthcare has grown importantly since 2024 -- 64% of patients would stock their afloat aesculapian past with AI for faster diagnosis, and lone 15% would not stock immoderate information with AI agents. Patients are 3 times much apt to spot an AI cause integrated into their doctor's unafraid portal than 1 connected a nationalist chatbot oregon wide website.
Also: Three tech visionaries connected however to physique spot and accountability with AI
Patients bash privation quality oversight successful bid to summation adoption of AI-driven support. The interest is if AI agents tin grip delicate wellness interactions, including concerns astir accuracy and privateness of wellness data. Patients bash not privation AI agents to enactment alone, with 88% requiring grounds of quality oversight earlier accepting AI for administrative support, and 90% expecting the aforesaid level of supervision for aesculapian support. Patients besides privation the enactment to escalate to quality enactment arsenic an indispensable spot requirement. Patients besides privation impervious down AI-generated recommendations -- traceability and accountability.
The value of AI cause traceability and accountability is 1 of the 12 rules for agentic AI palmy transformations.
To larn much astir the 2026 Connected Health Consumer Report, you tin sojourn here.
English (US) ·