How AI is revolutionizing clinician workflows: Insights from 2,000+ global healthcare professionals

The pace of technological change in healthcare has never been faster, and at the heart of this transformation is artificial intelligence (AI). The latest Clinician of the Future report from Elsevier suggests that AI is becoming a crucial part of the clinician’s toolkit, reshaping workflows, improving patient care, and helping to address some of the sector’s most pressing challenges.

AI adoption is accelerating worldwide

The report, based on a global survey of 2,206 clinicians (including 1,781 doctors and 425 nurses across 109 countries), reveals a dramatic increase in AI usage. In 2025, 76% of clinicians have used an AI tool, and nearly half (48%) have used AI specifically for work purposes, almost double the 26% reported just a year earlier.

While generalist AI tools like ChatGPT are the most widely used (97% of AI users), clinical-specific AI tools are also gaining traction, with 76% of work-related AI users having tried them. This surge in adoption is particularly notable in Asia Pacific and China, where usage rates are significantly higher than in North America and Europe.

AI’s impact: Saving time and empowering clinicians

Over half of clinicians (57%) say that clinical AI tools save them time, and 53% feel empowered by these technologies. According to the report, AI is helping clinicians manage high patient volumes, streamline administrative tasks, and focus more on direct patient care.

Some of the top ways clinicians are currently using or would like to use AI include:

• Identifying drug interactions (89%)

• Analyzing medical images (82%)

• Providing a patient’s medication summary (81%)

AI is also making inroads into more complex clinical tasks, such as supporting multidisciplinary case reviews and assisting with clinical decision-making, though adoption in these areas is still growing.

Regional differences and ongoing challenges

Despite the global momentum, the report highlights regional differences in AI adoption and attitudes. Clinicians in North America and Europe remain more cautious, with lower usage rates and greater concerns about trust, transparency, and the reliability of AI-generated content.

Only around a third of clinicians globally believe their institutions are performing well in providing digital tools, including AI, and even fewer rate their institution’s AI training and governance highly. Building trust remains a key challenge: 68% of clinicians say that automatically citing references would increase their confidence in clinical AI tools, and 65% want assurances around data privacy.

Looking ahead: The future of AI in clinical practice

Seventy percent of clinicians predict that AI will save them time in the next two to three years, and more than half expect AI to enable faster and more accurate diagnoses, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

As AI continues to evolve, it’s clear that its role in healthcare will only grow. For clinicians, the message is that with the right support AI can help them deliver better care, more efficiently, in an increasingly complex healthcare landscape.