Building Trust in AI in Healthcare: A German Perspective

Executive Summary

Germany's healthcare system is undergoing significant transformation, with reforms aimed at increasing efficiency, addressing staff shortages, and improving care quality. The Future Health Index 2025 report reveals that while AI holds immense potential to revolutionize healthcare by automating repetitive tasks, improving diagnostics, and personalizing treatment, significant trust gaps exist between patients and healthcare professionals regarding its widespread adoption. This report delves into these trust issues, exploring the perspectives of both groups and offering recommendations for fostering a more trusting and effective integration of AI in healthcare.

Key Findings

• Patient Perceptions: While generally optimistic about technology, German patients express reservations about AI, particularly concerning data privacy and the potential for AI to reduce human interaction in care. They value AI that improves efficiency, enhances patient outcomes, and allows healthcare professionals more time for personal interaction.
• Healthcare Professional Views: Healthcare professionals in Germany are also optimistic about AI's potential but voice concerns about data integration, workflow compatibility, and clarity regarding liability and evidence. They highlight the need for seamless integration of AI tools into existing systems to avoid additional workload.
• Trust Gaps: A significant trust gap exists, with patients showing less optimism about AI's benefits compared to healthcare professionals. This gap is particularly evident in areas like AI-assisted diagnostics and treatment planning.
• Recommendations: To bridge these trust gaps, the report recommends prioritizing the human element in AI development, improving collaboration between humans and AI, demonstrating AI's efficacy and fairness, establishing clear regulatory frameworks, and fostering strong partnerships across the healthcare ecosystem.

The German Healthcare Landscape

Germany's healthcare system faces challenges such as an aging population, increasing administrative burdens, and a growing shortage of healthcare professionals. Despite high investment, quality indicators lag behind European averages. AI is seen as a crucial tool to address these challenges, improve efficiency, and enhance the patient experience.

Waiting Times: 83% of patients in Germany wait for specialist appointments, with 22% experiencing a worsening of their condition while waiting. AI can help optimize capacities and reduce wait times.

Healthcare Professional Burden: Healthcare professionals often lose valuable time due to inefficiencies, with 82% reporting lost clinical time due to incomplete or inaccessible patient data. AI can help streamline data management and reduce this time loss.

Building Trust in AI

For AI to be widely adopted in healthcare, trust is paramount. The report outlines key strategies for building this trust:

• Human-Centric AI Development: AI solutions should be designed with the needs of patients and healthcare professionals in mind, ensuring seamless integration into existing workflows and IT infrastructure.
• Human-AI Collaboration: AI should augment, not replace, human expertise. Clear communication and training are essential for healthcare professionals to effectively collaborate with AI systems.
• Evidence of Efficacy and Fairness: Demonstrating AI's reliability, accuracy, and fairness, along with robust data security, is crucial for gaining acceptance.
• Clear Regulatory Frameworks: Harmonized regulations and clear guidelines for AI use will foster innovation while ensuring patient safety.
• Cross-Sector Partnerships: Collaboration among all stakeholders, including healthcare providers, technology companies, regulators, and patient advocacy groups, is vital for successful AI implementation.

Methodology

The findings are based on two quantitative online surveys conducted by Accenture Song from December 2024 to March 2025, involving over 1,900 healthcare professionals and over 16,000 patients across 16 countries, including Germany.