In just a few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from a technological curiosity to a mainstream tool. But what does it really mean when it comes to healthcare? In this article, we unpack for you the figures from our 2025 study on Swiss patients’ use of AI, the barriers to overcome and, most importantly, the concrete opportunities for your medical practice.
Do Swiss people use AI in healthcare?
Since the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) has steadily become more widespread in Switzerland. A Comparis survey published in March 2025 shows that two‑thirds of adults have already interacted with a generative chatbot such as ChatGPT or Gemini. Meanwhile, 98% of Swiss people say they know these tools, according to a study by the University of Zurich conducted at the end of 2024.
Yet, when healthcare is involved, the Swiss population appears reluctant about AI: our study conducted with Farner and MIS Trend reveals that 74% do not incorporate AI into their healthcare pathway. Among the population that uses AI the least in their care pathway in Switzerland are those aged over 55 and individuals holding a CFC/AFP qualification.
In other words, AI is known, tested, but still rarely integrated into everyday health practices.
How do patients use AI in their healthcare pathway?
Among the quarter of the population who take the step and use AI in a health context, here are the main use cases:
- Ask a question to a medical chatbot (16%): Typically: symptoms, side‑effects of a medication, explanation of a medical term.
- Compare or confirm a diagnosis (11%): For example, check if a diagnosis or treatment proposed is “consistent” with what AI responds.
- Decode test results (11%): Understand numerical values or complex jargon present in a lab or imaging report.
- Verify a prescription (7%): Ask the AI whether a medication combination is common or if possible interactions are mentioned.
In other words, even patients who are curious about AI use it mainly as a complement or informal second opinion, not as a substitute for the practitioner. AI intervenes before or after the consultation, rarely “instead” of the doctor.
What benefits do patients expect from AI in healthcare?
Even if the majority don’t use it in healthcare yet, a portion of the population already sees areas where AI could add value, notably:
- Cost reduction: For 61% of respondents, AI could reduce health‑related costs; younger people in particular are “fully convinced” about this point.
- Digitalisation and secure sharing of health data: One in two believe that automating data flows could avoid redundant tests and save time.
- Control or confirmation of a diagnosis: 53% think that AI could limit certain errors and thus reduce unnecessary treatments or procedures.
- Faster diagnosis through image or signal analysis: 47% see this as a way to gain efficiency.
- Telemedicine and triage of emergencies: For 40% of respondents, better routing to the correct level of care could reduce avoidable consultations or hospitalisations.
These elements remain, today, more in the stage of perceptions and expectations than of widespread use. But they clearly show where Swiss patients project the role of AI in healthcare.
Limited patient trust in AI in healthcare
The study figures are clear:
- Only 35% of respondents express at least “some” trust in AI to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment
- Only 2% say they are “completely confident”
- Trust declines with age and is lower among women
Conversely, people who already use digital health platforms (online appointment booking, electronic patient record, etc.) are twice as likely to be confident.
The main reasons given for this caution are:
- The fear of serious errors
- The lack of transparency about medical sources
- Concerns about personal data protection
Furthermore, no AI solution is currently officially recognised in Switzerland for medical diagnosis. Naturally, this reinforces the idea that AI can help, but does not yet serve as a diagnostic tool on the same level as a physician.
Is AI a threat to healthcare professionals?
According to our survey, the answer is clear: no.
A majority of people surveyed in Switzerland approach the use of AI in healthcare cautiously and continue to favour human diagnosis. Three out of four Swiss estimate that AI will not put their doctor out of work.
This conviction is even stronger:
- in German‑speaking Switzerland (80%)
- than in Romandy (63%)
- and in Ticino (64%)
And as we have seen, the Swiss population does not trust AI in medical diagnosis. AI is thus perceived more as a tool for information or confirmation, not as a “robot doctor” replacing your practitioner.
As a healthcare professional, your role remains central in the care pathway and is fully recognised by your patients. Artificial intelligence should therefore not be viewed as a threat or competition to you. When it is used, it is positioned on the periphery of the care relationship, often before or after the consultation.
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Is AI an opportunity for medical practices?
After exploring the patient perspective, you might wonder whether AI can be a help for your medical practice. Indeed, recent advances are rather promising and AI could become a valuable ally for your daily organisation. For example, it could:
- Relieve administrative burden: by helping you with tasks of low medical value but high workload, such as structuring notes or assisting with writing. This type of use in no way replaces your medical expertise: it simply helps speed up document production, while leaving you in control of final validation.
- Enable you to better prepare and summarise the consultation by helping organise patient information (previous consultation summaries, document sorting, highlighting key elements) and by offering a summary for the patient. In this context, AI becomes a teaching support and a structuring tool, but you still decide the medical content, diagnosis and treatment.
- AI can also be used for more advanced uses. For example, AI tools are already successfully used in the medical domain to analyse images or signals to complement your expertise (radiology, dermatology, cardiology, etc.)
These uses must always take place within a clear regulatory framework and comply with Swiss data protection standards. As always, the key lies in a balanced blend of technological support and human relation: AI helps to save time, better organise information and reduce certain redundancies, while you remain the clinical and human point of reference for your patients.
Study methodology
This survey was conducted online by OneDoc, Farner and MIS Trend in March 2025, with a representative sample of 1,124 Swiss people aged 18 and over (396 in Romandy, 434 in German‑speaking Switzerland, and 294 in Ticino). The maximum margin of error is ±2.9 % at national level. The data have been weighted to ensure regional and linguistic representativeness.
