The RCP view on digital and AI report

The RCP’s new RCP view on digital and AI report considers what will be needed to make the government’s ‘analogue to digital shift’ a success, covering the impact of digital and AI on the NHS workforce, patient safety, health inequalities and digital exclusion and education and training of healthcare professionals.

According to the report, 70% of UK physicians are either very (29%) or somewhat (41%) supportive of AI tools being widely implemented in the NHS, but 68% say it lacks the digital infrastructure to introduce AI.

As the NHS faces increasing demand, workforce pressures and the need to deliver more efficient care, digital systems and AI are potentially powerful tools to support clinicians and improve patient outcomes. But the promise of these technologies will only be fully realised if they are implemented thoughtfully, safely and inclusively, hand in hand with clinicians and with a relentless focus on patient safety.

The report makes clear that AI must support, not replace, the expert clinical judgement of doctors and warns against the significant risk of optimism bias around AI in healthcare, especially in addressing workforce pressures.

It sets out 10 recommendations aimed national government and the NHS in England including:

• Government to invest in well-functioning digital infrastructure to bring archaic IT systems up to date.
• The NHS to set an EPR content model specification standard that EPR providers must meet to ensure that their products meet NHS requirements.
• The Department for Health and Social Care to establish a central bank of NHS approved algorithms, AI tools and patient facing apps that meet national standards.
• Engagement with clinicians and patients from the outset to ensure that digital and AI solutions address real-world clinical challenges that improve workflows and support safe patient-centred care.
• The government’s ‘Roadmap for AI in the NHS’ to set out an effective and ethical plan for how and why AI will be used in the NHS, including how it can enable clinical research and tackle health inequalities, improve interoperability and incentivise the co-design, development and deployment of AI tools with clinicians and patients.
• Robust regulatory frameworks that put safeguards in place to ensure the safe and ethical use of AI.
• Government to meaningfully engage and work in partnership with medical royal colleges on its reforms to medical curricula, including competencies and teaching on digital and AI, alongside embedding digital and AI competencies for NHS clinicians at all career stages in continuing professional development (CPD).

The report also highlights findings suggesting that RCP the NHS is not moving quickly enough to provide clinicians with AI tools that are useful, efficient and safe. It calls for clear guidance on what AI tools are safe to use in healthcare and for clinicians to be supported to understand the differences between using NHS and non-NHS AI.

You can download the full report and summary for policymakers below.

Led by the RCP’s digital health clinical lead Dr Anne Kinderlerer. The report draws on the findings of a June 2025 RCP all-member snapshot survey, insights from a group of physician digital experts and a focus group on AI, and input from the clinical vice president and academic vice president. The focus group on AI brought together a range of AI experts, including physicians, the RCP’s clinical vice president, special adviser on population health, the Royal College of Radiologists and patient representatives. The report was approved by RCP Council prior to publication.