The Lancet publishes a study on AI in Catalan primary care: doctors call for more training In a recent consultation, an elderly patient was surprised to see her doctor seemingly talking to himself. In reality, the professional was dictating a report that an artificial intelligence tool was transcribing and converting into a document. AI is rapidly being integrated into health centers. “It’s not just a transformation; it’s a revolution that will radically change what we know,” says Antoni Sisó, president of the Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine (Camfic) and the main promoter of a study on the use of AI in Catalan primary care, published in The Lancet Primary Care. Sisó argues that, given the increasing pressure on primary care, AI is an immediate necessity. In 2024, the 437 primary care centers and 728 local clinics in Catalonia handled nearly 62 million visits. The study, based on a survey of Camfic members (the largest scientific society in Catalonia, with nearly 5,000 doctors), reveals a growing interest in AI, although significant barriers to its adoption remain. Of the 373 doctors who responded, most are experienced professionals: 56% are over 50 years old. Although AI is more commonly used by men, 70% of the responses came from women. 27.9% of respondents use AI daily, 29.5% several times a week, and 36.5% less than once a week; only 6.2% never use it. Most use free tools, and only 17.7% pay for subscriptions. The main applications of AI in primary care are literature search and synthesis (67%), text drafting and editing (45.6%), preparation of clinical presentations (37.3%), administrative support (22.5%), and creation of educational materials for patients (21.7%). Sisó highlights that AI streamlines everyday tasks, although integration with clinical systems and legal aspects remain ongoing challenges. The AI in Health Observatory, from the Department of Health, recorded nearly 200 AI tools in 2023, but only Axia (a clinical assistant integrated into the electronic health record) is fully implemented. However, the most used tool is ChatGPT (80.2%), followed by Microsoft Copilot (37.8%), Axia (36.2%), and Google Gemini (24.9%). Sisó notes that the use of AI in primary care is still in its early stages, but there is a strong demand for training: over 80% of doctors want to be trained, although many have self-trained due to a lack of institutional policies. The main identified barriers are the lack of structured training, legal and privacy concerns, poor integration with health records, and absence of clear guidelines. AI will transform medical practice, Sisó asserts: “Those who do not use it will be left behind, and those who adopt it will be more effective without losing the human relationship.” In the private sector, adoption is more agile, while the public system advances cautiously for security and confidentiality reasons. Sisó emphasizes the need to agree on the integration of these tools to prevent each professional from acting independently and expresses optimism about the future of the specialty, which combines human interaction, creativity, and technology. Source: lavanguardia.com