70% of doctors say EPR integration is main barrier to AI adoption
- 15 January 2026
- A Royal College of Physicians (RCP) survey found that 68% of doctors believe the NHS lacks the digital infrastructure to introduce AI effectively
- 70% cited a lack of integration with EPRs as the main barrier to AI adoption
- 66% of doctors said they did not have access to AI training
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is calling for the NHS to set an electronic patient record (EPR) content model to improve integration with AI tools, following a survey of its members.
A survey, responded to by 541 RCP members, found that 68% believe that the NHS lacks the digital infrastructure to introduce AI, with 70% citing the inability to integrate AI tools with other existing digital systems such as EPRs as the main barrier to adoption.
In a report, published on 15 January 2026, the RCP recommends that the government invest in well-functioning digital infrastructure to bring IT systems up to date, and establish a central bank of NHS approved algorithms, AI tools and patient-facing apps that meet national standards.
Dr Anne Kinderlerer, digital health clinical lead at the RCP, who led the report, said that AI tools will not deliver change without “effective implementation on strong foundations of interoperable digital systems and complete datasets”.
âPhysicians think the NHS is fundamentally unprepared for AI because its digital foundations are broken.
âMany systems canât talk to each other; infrastructure is outdated and there is poor standardisation in the function of electronic patient records.
âThis creates huge inefficiencies, frustrations, adds administrative burden and cognitive load on an already over-stretched workforce, delays patient care and increases clinical risk.
âAI has significant potential, but it is not a panacea, and we must guard against optimism bias.
“We must avoid simply chasing emerging innovative technologies like AI at the expense of optimising existing digital systems and considering how they will integrate with new technologies,â Kinderlerer added.
The snapshot survey, which took place in June 2025, found that almost three out of four (79%) of doctors wanted training in clinical AI tools, but two in three (66%) said that they had no access to such support, exposing a disconnect between the demand for AI and institutional capability.
It also found that 69% of 305 doctors in the UK said that they use personal access to AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot for clinical questions.
In the report, the RCP calls for NHS guidance on the safe use of AI tools in healthcare and argues that the NHS is not moving quickly enough to provide clinicians with safe, approved AI tools.
Professor Mumtaz Patel, president of the RCP, said that AI regulation was needed to protect doctors and patients, and prevent scepticism about the potential of AI to improve care.
“AI will be most beneficial when itâs designed to support, not replace, clinical judgment.
“We must train physicians to be the digital and AI leaders of the future and ensure they are involved in the development of AI tools that can help to solve real-world healthcare problems effectively,” Patel said.
Meanwhile, in December, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency launched a call for evidence on how AI in healthcare should be regulated, which will be used to support the work of the National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare.
