AI Survey Report 2026
What do patients think about AI in healthcare?
EPF’s latest survey shows that patients are broadly hopeful about the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, while also calling for stronger safeguards, transparency, and meaningful patient involvement.
The European Patients’ Forum (EPF) works to promote a patient-centred approach to AI in healthcare. EPF advocates for the development and roll-out of AI solutions that genuinely benefit patients by upholding the principles of patient safety, transparency, privacy, human autonomy, co-design, accountability, and education.
In 2023, EPF became the first EU patient organisation to publish a position paper outlining patients’ views and expectations regarding the development and use of AI in healthcare, based on a survey conducted among EPF members and their communities. Building on this work, EPF launched a new questionnaire in 2025 addressed to its members and beyond, receiving 874 responses. The results were analysed in 2026 by EPF and KU Leuven.
The findings show that almost all respondents (98%) believe AI could bring benefits to healthcare, particularly by supporting healthcare professionals in delivering more personalised care, enabling faster and more accurate diagnoses, and helping patients better manage their health and treatments.
At the same time, patients continue to express important concerns regarding the use of AI in healthcare, notably around the possible loss of human empathy and personal interaction, biased AI-driven decisions, incorrect diagnoses, and a lack of clarity about when and how AI is being used in care.
The survey also highlights that healthcare professionals remain patients’ most trusted source of information. More than eight in ten respondents (82%) said they would prefer to be informed about the use of AI directly by their doctor or healthcare professional, while 93% believe patients should be informed about AI use at the very beginning of their visit or treatment.
Patients additionally stressed the importance of clear and accessible communication. A majority favoured simplified, patient-friendly explanations about how AI is used in healthcare, underlining the need to strengthen AI literacy and ensure patients can engage confidently in decisions affecting their care.
The findings reinforce EPF’s call for a patient-centred approach to AI in healthcare, grounded in trust, transparency, patient safety, meaningful patient involvement, and strong human oversight.
Read the full survey findings.