More Than Half of U.S. Physicians Now Use AI In Their Practice Daily, But Few Have Clear Rules For It

Survey of 3,379 Physicians Finds Weekly AI Use Jumped From 51% to 85% in a Year, and 81% Say AI Has Taught Them Something Clinically New

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Doximity (NYSE: DOCS), the leading digital platform for U.S. medical professionals, released its Doctor-Driven AI Report finding that AI has crossed a threshold in medicine: it’s a tool more than 8 in 10 rely on every week, physicians say, but adoption is outpacing the rules that govern it.

AI now shapes how many physicians search the literature, make clinical decisions and handle paperwork, and it’s changing how they learn: 81% say AI has taught them something clinically they didn’t already know. But physicians often feel they are moving faster than the institutions around them.

While the vast majority say AI use is permitted or supported at their organization, only 28% say there are clear policies and approvals in place, leaving many physicians to decide on their own how AI should and shouldn’t be used in patient care.

“Most physicians now use AI daily, but our survey found three in four have caught errors in AI's answers. So they’re now left double-checking AI while also fielding patients’ self-generated AI diagnoses,” said Jeff Tangney, Co-Founder and CEO of Doximity. “It's time for tests and transparency, and our data shows physicians are ready to lead.”

Doximity surveyed 3,379 of its U.S. physician members in September 2026. Respondents represented 20 specialties, including anesthesiology, cardiology, family medicine, oncology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and radiology. Key findings from the report include:

• Daily use is now the norm. 85% of physicians use AI for work at least weekly and 52% use it daily, up from 51% and 37% in 2025. Oncologists lead all specialties, with more than 93% using AI at least weekly.
• Physicians are getting time back. 46% of physicians say AI has reduced their after-hours administrative work, up from 36% in 2025.
• AI is expanding clinical knowledge. 81% say AI has taught them something clinically they didn’t already know.
• Physicians trust AI but remain cautious. More than half are concerned about AI’s accuracy and reliability, and three in four have encountered a factual inaccuracy at work in the past 12 months. Two-thirds verify AI-generated clinical information all or almost all of the time.
• AI is rewriting the patient conversation. About three in four physicians say patients have become more likely in the past six months to propose a self-diagnosis or treatment plan from a generative AI tool. A third say patients arrive better informed with AI than with “Dr. Google.”
• AI adoption is moving faster than healthcare’s rules. 34% of physicians say legal and regulatory uncertainty is the factor that most limits their use of AI, and 82% say physicians should make the rules for AI in medicine.

The accuracy and reliability of AI answers is still the top concern among doctors. Doximity recently launched DoseCheck, a free safety feature in Doximity Ask that checks every AI-generated medication dosing recommendation against FDA labeling and professional guidelines, increasing dosing accuracy to more than 99%.

The full Doctor-Driven AI Report, including methodology, is available here.

About Doximity

Founded in 2010, Doximity is the leading digital platform for U.S. medical professionals. The company's network members include more than 85% of U.S. physicians. With AI-powered clinical reference and search capabilities, Doximity helps doctors access trusted, peer-reviewed information and medical literature. Doximity's mission is to help doctors be more productive so they can provide better care for their patients.