BOSTON– Physicians are reporting a more positive outlook on their profession than in recent years and are starting to see tangible benefits of AI in alleviating administrative burdens, according to athenahealth’s fourth annual Physician Sentiment Survey (PSS). Though physicians remain concerned about the state of U.S. healthcare, their day-to-day sentiment is on the rise compared to last year, with fewer physicians reporting that they are considering leaving the profession. And while obstacles remain to improve the physician experience, survey results indicate growing physician optimism that technology can address key pain points.
In athenahealth’s most recent survey, two-thirds of respondents indicated they look forward to coming to work each day. And notably, the number of physicians who are considering leaving the medical profession on a weekly basis has declined 22% since last year.
The survey explored physicians’ views around practice challenges, as well as the role of AI and technology as a means of addressing administrative burdens. This year’s results reveal a notable shift, with fewer physicians believing AI is overhyped or unable to meet expectations (27% this year, down from 40% a year ago). Only three in ten (31%) of physicians expressed concern that AI is one more thing that would complicate healthcare, a decrease from 42% last year.
“Improved physician sentiment year-over year indicates that when tools and technology are designed to address physician’s needs and improve their experience, we can have a tangible impact on the healthcare system — increasing efficiencies for physicians and enabling better patient outcomes,” said Dr. Nele Jessel, chief medical officer at athenahealth. “AI is moving from hype to reality, and the data shows us that physicians are starting to see real benefits in alleviating administrative burden. We must work to continue this momentum and ensure that the right tools and technology are built for, and available to, ambulatory care practices of all sizes.”
For physicians currently using AI in their practice, 68% reported using it more frequently for generating clinical documentation over the past year. Transcription services and capabilities (48%) are identified as the most valuable AI use case, along with streamlining administrative tasks (46%). These findings align with the significant growth of ambient listening applications in the past year. Despite the shift in sentiment, physicians still express concerns about AI’s role in healthcare delivery. Sixty-one percent of physicians are concerned about AI leading to the loss of human touch, while 58% fear an overreliance on AI for diagnoses, and more than half (53%) cite the risk of improper diagnoses.
The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of athenahealth, polled 1,001 primary care and specialist physicians nationwide to better understand physician sentiment regarding the state of the profession and perceptions around emerging technologies and their impact on delivering high-quality care. Despite meaningful gains on sentiment around technology and AI tools, survey results show that only 3 in 10 physicians are optimistic about the direction of U.S. healthcare, highlighting ongoing challenges in physician experience and practice management:
- Desire for more progress in interoperability: The importance of seamless data exchange remains clear. Ninety-one percent of physicians report that enhanced connectivity between information systems can improve patient outcomes. On a weekly basis, more than half of physicians expressed frustration with the challenges of accessing clinical information about their patients from other providers, and 80% of physicians said the lack of data sharing between systems increases their stress levels.
- Ongoing concerns about financial health: More than half of physicians (56%) are very or somewhat concerned about their organization’s financial health, and 49% are considering major changes to their practice’s operations to offset financial burdens. The primary concerns driving this sentiment are reimbursement rates (cited by 69% of physicians) and staffing costs (cited by 66%).
- Patient portals and communications are a double-edged sword: Findings highlight that while patient portals are beneficial and even sometimes preferred by physicians, they also contribute to administrative burden. Seventy-three percent of physicians report that patient portals facilitate easy communication with their patients, and roughly three in five (61%) believe they have improved the overall quality of patient care. However, 83% believe that these portals add to their administrative workload and 68% report feeling overwhelmed with patient questions.
- Demanding regulatory requirements: Physicians continue to navigate a complex landscape of regulatory demands that doesn’t seem to be improving, with 91% of physicians continuing to report that compliance burdens are getting worse (a statistic that has remained the same over three consecutive years).
