Survey found high concerns about hallucinations and advertiser bias creeping into care decisions from clinical AI, cites lack of governance and deskilling as top risks

Use of AI seen as a way of accelerating health literacy for patients, sparking dialogue with clinicians in an increasingly complex healthcare environment

WALTHAM, Mass.: #ai--Wolters Kluwer Health today released the 2026 Future Ready Healthcare Survey Report: “Patients, physicians, and nurses on AI: Similar tools, different pathways, one destination,” conducted in partnership with independent research firm, Ipsos.

As patients and clinicians increasingly turn to AI-generated resources for everything from quick symptom checks to informing complex healthcare decisions, they both express growing concerns that span issues of hallucination, bias, governance, deskilling, and other critical aspects of AI in healthcare. The study found both groups see it as imperative to establish clear guardrails for how, when, and where AI is being used in the care experience.

“The report’s findings expose an important reality bubbling to the surface of the AI conversation: real-world use of AI is rising year-over-year by both patients and clinicians, but it comes with a significant trust gap over mounting concerns around AI hallucinations, bias, and the monetization of personal data,” said Greg Samios, CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health. “The pressure is on healthcare leaders now to close the trust gap with visible, organizational governance and trusted content that tackles these worries, while continuing to drive innovative new clinical solutions.”

What are 2026’s top worries for patients and clinicians surveyed about clinical AI?

• Your diagnosis, sponsored by today’s advertiser
  Nearly three out of four clinicians (72%) and three out of five (61%) patients are concerned that AI-generated information sponsored by ads could introduce bias into healthcare decision-making. While many GenAI apps are ad-free, some consumer apps and professional health AI apps feature advertising. Both patient and clinician respondents are concerned that biases from advertisers such as pharmaceutical and medical device companies may influence the answers provided about care decisions.
  /li>
• Health AI governance can’t keep up
  Despite the lightspeed adoption of AI in healthcare, awareness levels of physicians and nurses about formal AI governance policies in their healthcare organizations increased at a snail’s pace year over year, from 21% in 2025 to a still modest 27% in 2026. Healthcare organizations may be lagging behind in implementing effective governance programs to ensure the right AI tools are being used, with the right guardrails. Another awareness-related issue is tied to how well governance policies are being communicated, a hallmark of a successful program.
  /li>
• Preventing a medical AI deskilling epidemic
  Significantly, 74% of clinicians are concerned about “deskilling,” or an increasing overreliance on AI tools that reduce clinicians’ skills and ability to independently identify inaccuracies or poor recommendations. For example, how transparently apps convey the clinical reasoning steps behind their answers may impact the level of clinicians’ engagement with and understanding of the answers they receive. In fact, about half of clinicians (53%) say they want AI to be required to show the detailed reasoning behind its responses. On a positive note, 77% of clinicians reported that they double-check AI answers with original sources or trusted databases like PubMed or UpToDate. And four out of five patients now expect it: 78% want clinicians to verify AI answers.
  /li>
• AI hallucination worries: Spot the fake medical study
  Compounding deskilling anxieties, three-quarters of clinicians (74%) cited hallucinations, when AI invents incorrect or fabricated information like fake medical studies, as a major concern now affecting their ability to practice appropriately. Still, 73% said they are somewhat or very confident in being able to spot whether an answer is clinically valid without consulting an outside source. That leaves a quarter of U.S. clinicians who are simply not sure if they can identify incorrect medical information without cross-checking sources.
  /li>
• Who’s to blame when patients are harmed?
  A full 75% of patients are concerned about accountability if AI contributes to harm during the care process. Many questions remain unanswered regarding patient harm, professional ethics, and exposure risk when a clinician follows the guidance of a clinical AI app and causes harm to the patient. Even with ironclad terms and conditions about apps’ limited role in decision making, are clinicians and their healthcare organizations fully grappling with how AI apps can affect care?
  /li>
• A clear health AI mandate: Keep humans in the loop
  With worries mounting about unchecked tech entering the point of care, more than 90% of clinicians and 89% of patients indicated they believe human experts should be validating the sources behind AI-generated healthcare content used for patient care. The message from respondents is clear: healthcare decisions, from treating mundane and familiar winter bugs to complex life-and-death choices, stand wholly apart from domains that are fully automated with AI. Patients and clinicians are united in demanding experts with real-world experience play a part in testing and confirming what goes into AI systems, versus unvetted approaches.

How are patients using health AI apps beyond the hospital walls?
The survey also found that AI-generated information is becoming a routine part of patients’ overall experience of receiving care. Notably, it’s changing how patients seek information about medical issues: nearly one in three patients (28%) said AI explains medical information more clearly than traditional health websites. And nearly 1 out of 5 (19%) found that AI provides answers to questions about their health faster than waiting for a clinician’s response.

During medical appointments, nearly 60% of patients said their clinicians openly engage with AI-generated information. Similarly, more than half (56%) of clinicians said they review AI information provided by patients, working to explain how that content aligns, or in some cases, does not align, with evidence-based clinical resources.

“AI is not just something that healthcare organizations are implementing within the walls of the health system. It’s something that’s shaping the patient journey well before they enter the doctor’s office. That influences the dynamics of clinical decision-making in important ways,” said Peter Bonis, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Wolters Kluwer Health.

Overall, both patients and clinicians are optimistic about how AI can help patients and clinicians align on how information is introduced, interpreted and acted upon. In both groups, 70% believe that AI can enable better patient health literacy and engagement.

Visit the 2026 Future Ready Healthcare website and download the full report.

The 2026 Future Ready Healthcare Survey Report is based on a nationally representative survey conducted by Ipsos (an independent market research firm) from March 11-14, 2026. A total of 355 healthcare professionals (203 doctors; 152 nurses) and 254 patients throughout the U.S. were recruited using online B2B and consumer panels.

About Wolters Kluwer
Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information solutions, software and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2025 annual revenues of €6.1 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,100 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX, Euro Stoxx 50, and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

For more information, visit www.wolterskluwer.com, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

Fonte: Business Wire