Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jan 12, 2025
Date Accepted: May 14, 2025
Perceptions, barriers, and facilitators for the use of artificial intelligence in primary care: A systematic review of qualitative studies.
ABSTRACT
Background:
Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve and transform primary care clinical practice by reducing the considerable bureaucratic burden that has deeply permeated it. However, clinicians and patients share concerns regarding data privacy and security and potential biases in AI algorithms.
Objective:
To provide an in-depth understanding of primary care professionals' and patients' perceptions, barriers, and facilitators for the use of AI in primary care.
Methods:
Systematic review of qualitative studies searching MEDLINE, Web of Science and SCOPUS databases from inception to June 2024. Inclusion criteria were studies reporting a qualitative analysis of the perceptions, barriers or facilitators associated with the use of AI in primary care. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research was used to assess the quality of the included studies. A thematic synthesis method was used to generate codes and themes through data-driven synthesis inductively. The GRADE-CERQual approach was used to assess the confidence in each synthesized finding.
Results:
A total of 654 studies were screened by title and abstract, of them 97 were full-text reviewed. Finally, 13 were included in this review. Four analytical themes emerged: the change of the physician–patient relationship, AI as a partner for efficient time and information management, data is the cornerstone of AI development, and barriers and facilitators for AI in primary care. The quality appraisal using the GRADE-CERQual assessment provided high confidence in the synthesis of findings for all themes except for Theme 4 (Barriers and facilitators for AI in primary care), which was rated as moderate confidence.
Conclusions:
This first synthesis of studies, with a focus on perceptions, has yielded insights into the attitudes and perceptions of all stakeholders within primary care settings regarding the implementation of AI tools. The findings of this study can serve as a foundation for the more ethical, safe and effective implementation of AI in primary care settings. Clinical Trial: not applied
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