TLDR: New research from NTT Data reveals a significant disconnect between healthcare leaders’ ambitions for generative AI (GenAI) and their practical ability to implement these strategies. While over 80% have a defined GenAI strategy, only 40% believe it aligns strongly with business objectives, and just 54% classify their GenAI capability as high-performing. Key challenges include a lack of necessary skills, pervasive legacy infrastructure, and critical security concerns, particularly regarding privacy violations and the misuse of Protected Health Information (PHI). Despite these hurdles, a substantial 87% of respondents believe the long-term potential of GenAI outweighs the associated risks.
A recent study by NTT Data highlights a considerable gap between the aspirations of healthcare leaders regarding generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and their actual capacity to execute these strategies effectively. The findings, derived from a survey of 425 healthcare decision-makers across 33 countries, indicate that while a strong majority—over 80%—of healthcare organizations report having a well-defined GenAI strategy, a mere 40% believe this strategy is robustly aligned with their broader business objectives. Furthermore, only 54% of those surveyed consider their GenAI capabilities to be high-performing.
The research surfaces at a pivotal moment, coinciding with the UK Government’s 10-year Health Plan, which aims to establish the NHS as the world’s most AI-enabled health system. Healthcare leaders widely acknowledge GenAI’s potential to accelerate research and development (94%) and enhance patient outcomes. However, they also pinpoint several significant barriers. These include a critical lack of necessary skills (75%), the widespread presence of legacy infrastructure (91%), and pressing security concerns (91%).
Despite the recognized benefits, such as improvements in compliance and adherence to processes, a substantial 91% of healthcare executives expressed apprehension regarding privacy violations and the potential misuse of Protected Health Information (PHI). Only 42% of respondents strongly agreed that their current cybersecurity controls are effective in safeguarding GenAI applications. Nevertheless, the perceived advantages of GenAI remain high, with 87% of respondents concurring that the long-term potential of GenAI surpasses the risks associated with security and legal challenges. Looking ahead, 59% of healthcare leaders plan to make significant investments in GenAI over the next two years.
Outdated technology and insufficient data readiness further impede GenAI deployment. The research indicates that 91% of respondents believe legacy infrastructure negatively impacts their ability to effectively utilize GenAI. Additionally, only 44% strongly agreed that they had made adequate investments in data storage and processing capabilities for GenAI workloads, and a mere 48% had assessed the readiness of their data and platforms for such applications. A significant majority (95%) of respondents view cloud-based solutions as the most practical and cost-effective method for fulfilling their GenAI technology requirements. However, progress has been slowed by issues related to data security, privacy, ethical considerations, and the complexities of regulatory compliance, as detailed in the NTT Data report titled “GenAI: The Care Plan for Powering Positive Health Outcomes.”
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Tom Winstanley, Chief Technology Officer at NTT Data UK & Ireland, commented on the findings: “Our report analyses the importance of AI to healthcare, which has just been demonstrated in the contents of the UK Government’s latest 10 Year Health Plan for England. The plan aims to make the NHS the most AI-enabled health system in the world and calls for all hospitals to be fully adopt AI, driving the UK to the forefront of investment and adoption. To achieve this, it aims to support all doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals with trusted AI.”
