New report finds 83% of clinicians began using AI in their practice while governance frameworks were still being developed.
New York, US – July 15, 2026 – A new global survey of more than 1,800 clinicians across 25 countries has found that they are adopting AI to tackle the documentation crisis faster than healthcare systems can keep pace. Heidi, the AI Care Partner used in around 2.7 million patient interactions globally every week, today released Pressure points, a report examining how the clinical workforce is using AI and what it would take to better support them.
Clinicians were looking for relief to administration burden
The administrative weight of clinical practice has grown significantly, with documentation being the heaviest administrative task for 88% of surveyed clinicians - a burden consistent across every geography, specialty, and career stage.
That burden is what’s driving adoption: 86% of clinicians now use AI daily or several times a week, and usage is highest among the most experienced practitioners. 62% of clinicians with 21 or more years in practice use it daily, compared with 51% of those with five years or less, and veteran clinicians are those most often recommending it to colleagues. The clinicians who had lost the most time to documentation over their careers were the first to adopt.
More than half (57%) now call AI a consistent part of how they work, and 83% are doing so without guidance from their employer, a formal policy or a recommended tool.
Building clinician trust in AI tools
In the report, 68% of clinicians cite hallucinations and accuracy risk as their top concern with using AI tools in their practice, ahead of patient privacy (59%), over reliance (47%) and erosion of clinical judgement (41%). Over half (56%) feel confident that AI tools are safe and adequately regulated. Patients also appear more comfortable with their clinicians using AI, with 75% of clinicians saying their patients are open to it being used in their care.
"What this report shows is how clinicians are already embracing new technology to support their work, while regulation is still being formed and agreed upon," said Yass Omar, Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at Heidi. "Healthcare is at an inflection point and organizations have an opportunity to partner with their clinicians by establishing clear, supportive frameworks. By providing guidance around privacy and safety, leadership can build on the initiative their teams are already showing, accelerating efficiency and safe AI adoption.”
Behind the efficiency numbers, workforce retention is still at stake
The World Health Organization projects a global shortfall of 11 million health workers by 2030, creating an urgent need to retain the workforce. Against that backdrop, 73% of clinicians say AI is helping them sustain a longer, more manageable career.
“The debate about whether clinicians will adopt AI is over. They already have,” said Dr Simon Kos, Global Chief Medical Officer at Heidi. “Amid a historic global workforce shortage and an overwhelming rise in administrative demands, clinicians are turning to AI out of necessity. They are finding relief because the systemic burdens of modern medicine require modern tools, and the hours they’re recovering are a lot more than abstract measures on a spreadsheet. When a clinician finishes their last consultation of the day and their charting is already done, you have given them their evening back. Multiplied across a career, that is what lets clinicians stay in medicine longer instead of burning out.”
This report lands alongside ‘Relief, on repeat’, Heidi’s new global brand campaign exploring relief at scale and in its smallest, everyday moments.
View the full Pressure points report at https://www.heidihealth.com/en-gb/blog/pressure-points-2026-report
About the survey
Heidi surveyed 1,823 clinicians across 25 countries in May 2026. The survey included physicians and other healthcare professionals across a range of specialties and measured administrative burden, AI adoption, trust, governance and workforce sustainability.
Media contacts
Grace Firmin-Guion
media@heidihealth.com
