Transforming Urologic Care: Physician and Patient Insights on AI Integration

Introduction The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in urologic practice offers promising advancements in diagnostics, prognostics, and therapeutic decision-making, with applications spanning the entire field of urology. As both patients and physicians adapt to AI in urology, this study examines their understanding of AI, highlighting similarities and differences in their perspectives. Methods An IRB-approved survey was created to assess awareness and perspectives on AI within the urologic community across the United States. Percentages were used to quantify the similarities and differences and statistical tests as appropriate were applied for significance. P value was set at 0.05. Surveys were distributed via email to both patients and urologists. Results In a survey of 380 participants (199 physicians (phy), 181 patients (pts)), both groups shared a baseline unfamiliarity with AI in general (59.3% phy vs. 65.8% pts, p=0.2) and AI in healthcare (71.4% phy vs. 76.8% pts, p=0.2). A majority of each group expressed optimism about AI’s clinical utility (61.3% phy vs. 74.6% pts, p=0.006) but held mixed trust in its accuracy with physicians showing greater mistrust (49.7% phy vs. 34.2% pts, p=0.001). Ethical and privacy concerns were notable, with more physicians than patients emphasizing ethical issues (38.7% vs. 22.1%, p=0.001) and significant privacy risks (50.8% vs. 42.0%, p=0.2). Both groups favored shared accountability for AI-driven outcomes (71.3% phy vs. 63.3% pts, p=0.2) and human oversight (78.4% phy vs. 66.9% pts, p=0.01), underscoring a need for cautious AI integration in urology. Conclusions This study reveals alignment between physicians and patients on AI’s potential in urology, alongside shared concerns about its reliability, ethics, and oversight.