Philips Future Health Index 2025 report highlights significant trust gap in healthcare AI between clinicians and patients

Cambridge, Mass. – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today unveiled its 2025 Future Health Index U.S. report, “Building trust in healthcare AI,” spotlighting the state of healthcare and uncovering a significant trust gap between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients around the role of AI in healthcare. This 10th edition report, commissioned by Philips, reveals a healthcare system under mounting strain and signals that AI can help. However, gaps in trust in AI threaten to stall progress. 

With feelings of stress, frustration and burnout, the report finds that almost one quarter of HCPs say they wouldn’t pursue a career in healthcare if they could go back in time. Patients are also feeling the strain, with the longest wait times to see a specialist averaging almost two months, which can lead to increased anxiety and potentially poorer outcomes. While a majority of HCPs (63%) are optimistic that AI could improve patient outcomes, less than half of patients surveyed are optimistic that AI can improve healthcare. The gap widens even further among patients aged 45 or over, with just 33% being positive about AI’s role in improving healthcare. 

This year’s Future Health Index also illustrates HCPs’ growing recognition of the transformative potential of AI in enhancing their work and the care they provide to patients. Nearly two-thirds (62%) value AI’s ability to enhance the patient experience through shorter procedure times and reduced wait times for patients. Moreover, 85% state that AI can reduce their administrative burden, and 74% see AI improving patient access through increased capacity and throughput as well as increased face-to-face time with patients, reinforcing the crucial role AI can play in speeding healthcare delivery.