AI in Health and Social Care: Moving Beyond the Hype

AI and healthcare have not always gone hand-in-hand. Expert opinions have always been important, and it was to be expected that there would be initial resistance to artificial intelligence and much discussion about what role it should play in the future of healthcare. After all, privacy and data security are a big factor to consider, as is improper or incorrect support from AI. Nobody wants false guidance, but this at least manageable with say a supermarket chain rather than healthcare.

However, among both the general public and clinicians, mindsets are changing. The healthcare industry is more disposed than ever to consider practical and reliable implementation of AI in healthcare solutions. 

The Health Foundation recently conducted a survey of more than 10,000 NHS staff members and the general public regarding their views on technology and AI in the health and social care sector. According to the data they presented at Digital Health Rewired 2026, trust in AI is increasing. 

91% of doctors said they would trust AI if source content was created by clinical experts and the vast majority of those believe that generative AI can improve care team interactions with patients. According to the same study, in 2025, an additional 8% of NHS staff believed that AI would make care quality better compared to the previous year. An additional 5% of the general public also held the same belief. 

But AI will not being used in healthcare in the same way that it’s predicted to be used in the future by the general public. AI will never replace the people who work in healthcare. As an industry, it simply cannot be automated. Trust and human interaction will always be pivotal. So, in this setting, AI needs to operate differently – and rolling it out the right way is important. 

The development of AI in health and social care has been so well-considered that it is a key principle within the NHS 10 Year Health Plan. The hope is that “AI scribes [will] liberate staff from their current burden of bureaucracy and administration, freeing up time to care and to focus on the patient”. It also states that innovative healthcare reform will “make the NHS the most AI-enabled health system in the world with AI seamlessly integrated into clinical pathways.” 

Low-risk, high-reward rollouts are where healthcare is currently noticing the most significant benefits from AI. Data entry and record duplication are where it can make a long-term impact without dramatically changing current ways of working. A recent deployment of AI assistive technology to over half a million NHS staff is predicted to save an average of 2 days every month in administrative duties. 

Some organisations are already taking their use of AI further. It is now being used as an additional early detection tool for diagnosis like cancer. According to the NHS, more than four million patients have already received a faster diagnosis of lung cancer or more prompt all-clear results due to AI-powered x-ray tools which act as a second opinion and support radiologists to expedite test results. 

When developed and rolled out correctly, AI is precise, predictive and allows for proactive intervention. Used in this way, it’s saving lives by allowing patients to receive the care that they need before it’s too late. 

Not only that, but AI is facilitating healthcare professionals to spend more time with their patients, enhancing their care and health outcomes. While the automation of routine tasks is saving time, it also contributes to a better work-life balance for healthcare teams and reduces burnout caused by administrative friction.

Despite its benefits, scaling up AI adoption within healthcare is a challenge. In an industry that depends on trust, it’s important for clinicians and patients to understand where data is coming from and how it is being verified. Currently, 86% of patients say that not knowing the source of generative AI health information is their biggest concern.

Within the workforce, organisations can face barriers for AI adoption when it comes to integration with existing workflows. Too much automation can signal replacement, leaving staff and their earned experience feeling redundant. Additionally, as with all technology, setup and training can seem like a time constraint that interferes with existing workflows.

Integrated AI platforms are becoming increasingly common and proving that AI adoption can have a positive impact within healthcare. They streamline workflows, making it easier to see tasks and work efficiently to give teams time back to focus on patients.

Platforms like Access Evo connect to over 250 third-party applications and combine systems, giving you a unified view of your workflow and other people within your organisation. Access Evo helps you refocus and get the most out of your day, every day with: 

• A personalised AI assistant
• Aggregated notifications and tasks in a streamlined view
• Collaborative environments for teams and business analytics at your fingertips

It’s already been proven to enable employees to do more of what their core job requires, surface data instantly to team members, cut down time consuming tasks and make documentation more visible and accessible for all.  

The Access Group is continually developing Access Evo with an ambition to roll it out to even more solutions for more efficient and effective workloads that still have team and patient benefits at the core. Most notably, Access Evo is currently being tailored for deployment within Rio EPR, with the aim of creating a future-proof electronic patient record (EPR) system which gives you a single view of patients in your care. 

Most often, AI doesn’t fail in healthcare because the two are inherently incompatible. It fails because AI isn’t specifically designed for the industry.

Perhaps the most important marker of successful AI adoption in health and social care is that it can be trusted - that physicians know the source and that patients can trust how their doctors are using it. It’s also important that AI is paired with human opinion and expertise. AI should act as a second opinion, rather than an affirmative first answer. 

When it comes to adoption and training in practice, the key to rolling out AI is making sure that it works with existing systems. When AI can be integrated into software that you already own and workflows that you already adopt, there is less friction among your workforce. It becomes a natural and intuitive shift. 

Once your technology has been implemented, you should be able to identify measurable improvements within your organisation. Metrics like time spent on administration, data duplication rates and staff retention should all reduce. A successful implementation will also see more positive staff and patient satisfaction as well as patient health outcomes.

It is highly unlikely that adoption of AI in healthcare will ever replace the people the industry currently depends on for patient-centred care. People will always be needed in health and social care, so the role of AI will be more supportive at a non-patient-facing level. 

As is already beginning to be the case, AI will centre on making repetitive tasks easier to manage, if not completely removing the burden from frontline staff. This will save time in admin duties and put care back on the patient. The result is a more human-led approach to care where patient satisfaction has the opportunity to increase and staff feel a renewed sense of purpose in their work. 

In other areas, AI will play a critical role in the early detection and consequent prevention of disease. Recent examples on lung cancer detection have proved that AI is a valuable second set of eyes which is consequently saving lives by helping doctors expedite the diagnosis stage. 

High-level visibility of workloads and workflow management is also likely to improve under an increased usage of AI. Larger volumes of data will be available with predictive modelling able to anticipate bottlenecks, staff shortages and other capacity pressures before they occur.

The rollout of AI in healthcare has been in anticipation for quite some years, and recent adoptions are proving that it’s beginning to live up to its promise. With streamlined workflows, reduced admin pressure on staff and better patient outcomes and happiness, AI is helping to create a meaningful new era within healthcare. 

To be one of the first to experience the benefits of AI-led health and social care, consider Access Evo. This AI-powered digital workspace supports decision-making with the AI assistant and helps streamline your workflow with a personalised dashboard that brings together tasks and notifications all in one place. It helps you work smarter by improving productivity, all while ensuring rigid compliance and data security.