What Doctors Really Think About AI: Here Are the Surprising Findings From Offcall’s 2025 Physicians AI Report

Key Podcast Moments

• Graham reveals the most surprising headline from The 2025 Physicians AI Report Two-thirds of physicians already use AI every day. Far more than anyone in healthcare leadership seems to realize.
• He explains why 81% of physicians are frustrated with how their organizations deploy AI And why this disconnect between clinicians and administrators mirrors the early days of the EHR rollout.
• Graham breaks down the #1 fear physicians have about AI and it isn’t job loss It’s AI falling under the control of payers and administrators whose incentives may not align with clinical judgment.
• What doctors actually want from AI tools right now Documentation relief, easier workflows, and simple automation. Not diagnostic algorithms that override clinical reasoning.

To accompany the release of The 2025 Physicians AI Report, Offcall co-founder Dr. Graham Walker steps out from behind the interviewer’s desk for a special mailbag episode, answering the questions doctors are actually asking about AI: How much are clinicians really using it? When should we trust it? Who should control it? And what will it mean for the future of practice?

More than 1,000 physicians were polled in The 2025 Physicians AI Report, making it one of the most detailed looks yet at how clinicians are adopting and feeling about AI inside their actual workflows. The findings are striking:

• Two-thirds of doctors now use AI every day.
• Nearly 90% use it at least once a week.
• Physicians are using AI far more than their organizations know, or support.
• And yet, 81% are dissatisfied with how their hospitals deploy AI — a sign that the technology isn’t the problem, the implementation is.

Graham walks through these insights with the candor only a working ER physician can offer. He explains why doctors trust AI for documentation but hesitate to let it steer clinical decision-making. He breaks down the incentives that make clinicians worry about payer-controlled AI. He shares the everyday frustrations — like fax machines, EHR limitations, and needless administrative complexity — that make physicians crave practical, low-friction tools rather than moonshot diagnostics.

And he issues a clear call to action: if clinicians aren’t vocal participants in shaping AI adoption, the technology will be deployed to them instead of with them, repeating the mistakes of the last decade.

👉 You can explore every chart and insight at The 2025 Physicians AI Report, available now at: https://2025-physicians-ai-report.offcall.com/

This episode isn’t about hype. It’s a grounded look at where AI genuinely supports better care, where it still falls short, and what physicians need to ensure the future of medicine is built around clinical judgment and not bureaucracy.

Top 4 Takeaways

1. Physicians are already deep into AI adoption, just not in the ways leadership expects.

The data reveals a quiet revolution underway: clinicians are using AI daily for writing notes, drafting documents, patient communication, and simplifying routine tasks. This widespread, organic adoption contrasts sharply with the sluggish pace of formal institutional rollouts — and signals that physicians will lead innovation from the ground up, whether their organizations keep pace or not.

2. The biggest fear isn’t replacement, it’s misaligned incentives.

Physicians overwhelmingly fear AI placed in the hands of payers or administrators. As Graham explains, AI is neutral; the incentives behind it are not. A payer-controlled model that nudges toward fewer admissions or fewer tests poses a fundamentally different risk than a physician-centered tool designed to improve care. The report makes clear: clinicians trust AI when it supports their judgment, not when it threatens to override it.

3. Doctors don’t want AI to “think for them”, they want it to remove the burdens that keep them from thinking.

The top clinician priority isn’t diagnostic support; it’s eliminating administrative drag. Documentation, messaging, paperwork, and workflow bottlenecks remain the most painful parts of modern practice. AI that meaningfully reduces this burden is welcomed. AI that replaces clinical reasoning is approached with caution for good reason.

4. AI will become a powerful clinical ally, if physicians remain active participants in its design.

Graham’s ideal AI isn’t a black box that issues orders; it’s a trusted colleague — a second set of eyes that notices what you might have missed, nudges you toward differentials, and supports safer care without stripping autonomy. The lesson from The 2025 Physicians AI Report is clear: when physicians help shape the tools, adoption rises, trust increases, and outcomes improve. When they are sidelined, resistance grows.

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