Hyderabad: ISB study on attitudes towards AI for TB diagnosis gets mixed reactions

The researchers found that 93.7 per cent of providers believed AI could improve TB diagnosis accuracy, while only 69.4 per cent were willing to adopt the technology

Hyderabad: A study by researchers at the Max Institute of Healthcare Management (MIHM) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis has evoked mixed reactions from the informal health care sector.

The study titled ‘Understanding Providers’ Attitude Toward AI in India’s Informal Health Care Sector: Survey Study’ surveyed 406 Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) and informal health care providers (collectively called AIPs) across Gujarat and Jharkhand.

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The researchers found that 93.7 per cent of providers believed AI could improve TB diagnosis accuracy, while only 69.4 per cent were willing to adopt the technology.

The findings, which were published in ‘JMIR Formative Research’, a peer-reviewed journal, include higher adoption readiness in Gujarat (73.4 per cent) compared to Jharkhand (58.4 per cent), reflecting the impact of regional health care infrastructure development.

ISB Information Systems’ assistant professor and lead author of study, Sumeet Kumar said the gap between belief in AI’s potential and willingness to adopt it suggests that technological superiority alone may not guarantee successful implementation. The regional differences and existing health care infrastructure play crucial roles in technology adoption, he said.

As per the research, providers who were more confident in diagnosing TB showed greater willingness to adopt AI. Also, providers’ trust in local radiologists influences AI adoption differently across regions.

The research suggests that successful AI implementation in health care requires tailored approaches considering regional infrastructure differences, additional support, and training programmes for health care providers.

ISB Deputy Dean, Faculty and Research, and MIHM executive director, Prof. Sarang Deo, who is also the co-author of the research paper, said the study shows the importance of including behavioural and implementation science elements in the evaluation of AI, moving beyond the technical aspects that currently dominate the discourse.

“The finding that providers with weaker diagnostic skills are less likely to adopt AI indicates that the overall impact of AI on health outcomes might be more muted than predicted by technical specifications alone,” Prof. Deo added.