AI in healthcare: Are patients open to medical services powered by artificial intelligence & robots?

Microsoft recently announced that it is working with Singapore’s national healthtech agency Synapxe (formerly IHiS) to develop SecureGPT for Healthcare Professionals.

The generative artificial intelligence (AI) platform – to be powered by the tech giant's Azure OpenAI Service – aims to automate some time-consuming tasks that healthcare workers currently perform manually. These include summarising key patient information from clinical notes and laboratory reports, tracking medication changes and usage, to even dispensing information on care protocols for medical conditions – from a dedicated healthcare knowledge base.

But how comfortable are patients with AI-powered healthcare? What kinds of medical services are they willing to receive from an AI or robot – and how does this differ across key APAC markets?

Latest YouGov Surveys research across 18 major markets globally found that residents in APAC are generally more likely to welcome the use of AI and robots in healthcare, compared to denizens of other global regions like EMEA and AMERS.

A larger percentage of APAC residents say they would be open to having AI analyse their personal health data and tailor personalised health programs, provide medical advice on treatment of common health conditions, as well as diagnose potential illnesses and critical conditions.

However, when it comes to receiving robot-assisted surgery and getting prescriptions from a robot pharmacist, a relatively larger percentage of EMEA residents say they are open to this. Now let’s drill into this data by market.

How open are Australians to AI/robot-supported healthcare services?

Over a quarter of Australian residents say they would be willing to have their health data monitored and analysed by an AI (28%), undergo surgery conducted with robotic instruments operated by a human surgeon (26%) and to be lifted/moved in a hospital by a robot (26%).

Less than a fifth of residents, however, are keen on having an AI doctor assess common medical conditions and provide advice on treatment options (16%), to receive a personalised health program tailored by AI (14%), or to receive AI-powered mental health counselling (8%).

Compared to other APAC markets, residents in Australia are significantly less likely to permit AI to analyse health data and tailor personalised health programs, diagnose potential illnesses / common and critical medical conditions, and be open to AI-supported mental health services.

How open are Singaporeans to AI/robot-supported healthcare services?

Close to half of Singapore residents say they would be willing to have an AI monitor and analyse their health data (47%): this is significantly higher than the APAC average.

About a third are open to having robots lifting/moving them in hospitals (32%), while more than a quarter would be willing to have an AI tailor personalised health programs for them (28%) or dispense medication (28%).

Notably, Singapore residents are significantly more likely than the average APAC resident to be open to receiving prescriptions from a robot pharmacist (28%).

In contrast, less than a seventh of Singapore residents are keen on receiving AI-powered mental health counselling (14%) – significantly lower than the APAC average.

How open are Hong Kongers to AI/robot-supported healthcare services?

Three in seven Hong Kong residents say they would be willing to have their health data monitored and analysed by an AI (42%).

Additionally, three in eight are open to being lifted/moved by robots in hospitals (38%) and to receive robot-assisted surgery (37%): this is significantly higher than the APAC average.

Hong Kong residents are also significantly more likely to be willing to have an AI doctor assess common medical conditions and provide advice on treatment options (30%) compared to the average APAC resident.

Healthcare services relating to mental health and drug/medication prescription had the lowest share of residents who are open to receiving them from an AI – at around one in five – although this was comparable to the APAC average.

How open are Indonesians to AI/robot-supported healthcare services?

Two-fifths of Indonesian residents say they say they would be willing to have their health data monitored and analysed by an AI (40%).

Additionally, a third are open to receiving personalised health programs tailored by an AI (32%) – significantly higher than the APAC average.

Indonesian residents, however, are significantly less likely than the average APAC resident to be willing to have robots lift/move them in hospitals (22%), dispense medical prescriptions (17%) or perform surgery on them with human operation (15%).

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 510 and 2,044 for each market. All surveys were conducted online during June 2023. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

_{Cover Photo by MR.Cole_Photographer}