Survey: GenAI governance falling behind rapid provider adoption

While the use of generative AI is accelerating among healthcare providers, AI governance is unable to keep pace.

A recent survey reveals that nearly half of clinicians (48%) use GenAI in their work every day, and another quarter (24%) use it weekly. However, only 27% of clinicians said their organization has a published policy on GenAI use in 2026.

The survey, conducted by independent research firm Ipsos and published by Wolters Kluwer Health, polled 355 healthcare professionals from March 11 to March 14, 2026. The sample included 203 physicians and 152 nurses.

Physicians (54%) and nurses (43%) primarily used AI to summarize medical literature or analyze data. Medical literature-based discovery and the use of AI scribes to draft documentation were physicians' next most-cited AI use cases. Among nurses, AI was mainly used to create patient education materials (41%) and to check drug interactions (37%).

These uses paid off, the data indicated, as 61% of clinicians said GenAI enabled them to spend more time on patient care.

Still, clinicians' concerns about AI utilization are widespread. One of the most prominent concerns is whether AI will erode clinicians' ability to make independent clinical decisions, the report noted. Most clinicians (74%), including 77% of physicians and 70% of nurses, anticipate that clinical deskilling will be one of the greatest risks of overreliance on AI tools.

In addition to deskilling, clinicians' trust in AI is shaky. Nearly half of clinicians (47%) have concerns about the quality and reliability of AI in healthcare, and 43% worry about the lack of trustworthy source data. Three-quarters of clinicians (74%) also cited hallucinations as a major concern.

Notably, clinicians favor strong penalties for the misuse of AI or related data breaches. Half (49%) of doctors want to see more significant consequences for these actions.

Still, AI governance at healthcare organizations appears to be lacking.

Only 21% of physicians and 36% of nurses are aware of published policies on the authorized uses of GenAI at their organizations. Of those aware of the policies, about half (51%) were aware of policies that explicitly listed approved and unapproved tools, while only 35% knew about guidelines for validating the accuracy and reliability of output, and 22% about policies delineating the responsibilities of clinicians and AI tools.

"The report's findings expose an important reality bubbling to the surface of the AI conversation: real-world use of AI is rising year-over-year by both patients and clinicians, but it comes with a significant trust gap over mounting concerns around AI hallucinations, bias, and the monetization of personal data," said Greg Samios, CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health, in the press release. "The pressure is on healthcare leaders now to close the trust gap with visible, organizational governance and trusted content that tackles these worries, while continuing to drive innovative new clinical solutions."

AI governance is not only lagging behind organizational adoption of AI, but it also remains piecemeal at the industry level. A recent study showed that while the health AI governance landscape is growing, activity is diffused across more than 100 issuers, including regulators, governments and standards organizations. 

With AI utilization showing no signs of slowing, standardized and formalized policies will be needed both within and outside healthcare organizations.

Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers healthcare IT and innovation, including artificial intelligence, digital healthcare, EHRs and interoperability.