A cross-sectional study to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of artificial intelligence in medical field among doctors in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has already been widely adopted in various fields which has accelerated its growth in the medical field as well. As AI becomes increasingly important in healthcare, it is essential to foster future healthcare professionals with the required skills and knowledge. Therefore, the primary objective of our study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice related to AI in medicine among doctors in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional, observational and questionnaire-based study was conducted among doctors with their consent working in various departments of our hospital. A total of 17 questionnaire were included: 5 knowledge based, 7 attitude-based, 5 practices based. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 26.0. Descriptive analysis including frequency, percentages and central tendencies was calculated for each domain and were tabulated. Results: A total of 135 doctors were enrolled in this study. Among which 87.4% of associate professors had wider knowledge about AI in medical filed. The attitude-based questionnaire followed a Likert scaling ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree which revealed 70.1% of professors strongly agreed that AI is a much-needed tool in medical field and has positive impact on healthcare. The overall practice-based Likert scaling reflected that 69% of the professors often used AI in their medical field for treating patients and for conducting research. Conclusions: AI in healthcare is still at a rudimentary level and more such research has to be conducted to pave a path for upskilling patient care.