Digital health company Aide Health has found that patients are often more honest with AI than with their own doctors, according to its new white paper Building Patient Trust in AI.
“Healthcare AI sits at the crossroads of trust and empathy. People trust technology to listen without judgment, but they still want to feel understood,” said Ian Wharton, Founder and CEO of Aide Health.
The trust paradox
In NHS primary care, Aide Health’s conversational platform found that 26% of asthma patients admitted to not taking their medication as prescribed, a figure far higher than in typical face-to-face consultations.
Still, despite rapid AI growth, projected to reach $148.4bn by 2029, 60% of patients remain uneasy about AI in healthcare.
“People often reveal more to AI than they expect, and less to clinicians than they intend,” said Wharton.
Other key findings in the report include:
- While 48% of people are comfortable with AI identifying health risks through wearables, only 35% believe it improves care quality.
- Levels of trust vary widely across communities, reflecting broader health inequalities rather than differences in AI performance.
- Non-judgemental AI reduces fear of criticism, encouraging patients to speak honestly.
With NHS staffing gaps expected to reach 360,000 by 2037, Aide Health argues that trustworthy AI could ease pressure on overstretched systems while supporting both patients and clinicians.
“AI should never replace a doctor. But when it’s designed to listen, guide and adapt, it can make every conversation between patient and clinician more meaningful,” said Wharton.
AI as a tool for medical memory
Aide Health offers a trust-centered design approach with Mirror, the UK’s first AI-powered “medical memory” for patients.
The app discreetly listens during consultations and produces a summary for patients to revisit.
Research from the Netherlands finds that up to 80% of medical advice is forgotten immediately, and nearly half of what is remembered is inaccurate.
Mirror aims to reduce this misremembering, which costs the NHS an estimated £1bn annually.
Standards for AI design
The white paper goes beyond just providing information about patient trust in AI, it also calls for action. It establishes clear standards around transparency, fairness and privacy in AI design, including:
- Patients must understand how their data is used and how it benefits them.
- Systems should be tested across diverse populations to ensure fairness.
- Interfaces must be simple, inclusive and accessible to all
“If we can design technology that respects that honesty, we can make care safer, more personalised and more human,” said Wharton.