JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The potential for machine learning to disrupt the medical professions is the subject of ongoing debate within biomedical informatics and related fields.

Objective:

To explore GPs’ opinions about the potential impact of future technology on key tasks in primary care.

Methods:

Context and Setting: A web-based survey of 720 UK GPs’ opinions about the likelihood of future technology to fully replace GPs in performing six key primary care tasks; and if respondents considered replacement for a particular task likely, to estimate how soon the technological capacity might emerge. Qualitative descriptive analysis of written responses (‘comments’) to an open-ended question.

Results:

Comments were classified into three major categories in relation to primary care: (i) limitations of future technology; (ii) potential benefits of future technology; and (iii) social and ethical concerns. Perceived limitations included the beliefs that communication and empathy are exclusively human competencies; many GPs also considered clinical reasoning, and the ability to provide value-based care as necessitating physicians’ judgements. Perceived benefits of technology included expectations about improved efficiencies in particular with respect to the reduction of administrative burdens on physicians. Social and ethical concerns encompassed multiple, divergent themes including the need to train more doctors to overcome workforce shortfalls, and misgivings about the acceptability of future technology to patients. However, some GPs believed that the failure to adopt technological innovations could incur harms to both patients and physicians.

Conclusions:

This study presents timely information on physicians’ views about the scope of artificial intelligence in primary care. Overwhelmingly, GPs considered the potential of artificial intelligence to be limited. These views differ from the predictions of biomedical informaticians. More extensive, stand-alone qualitative work would provide a more in-depth understanding of GPs’ views. Clinical Trial: (Not applicable)