Artificial intelligence, boom among doctors and citizens and in the local health authorities, digital health spending grows to 2.7 bn

On the day Pope Leo presented his first encyclical, dedicated to artificial intelligence, the latest data confirming its now massive presence in one of the most delicate areas for every person: that of health. Putting them in line is the Osservatorio Sanità Digitale (Digital Health Observatory) of the Politecnico di Milano, which, in the context of digital health spending that has grown by 9% in one year and has reached 2.7 billion, thanks mainly to the input of the NRAP, gives an account of a veritable exploit of AI. In 2026, the use of generative AI jumps to 61% for specialists and family doctors, up from 26% and 46% respectively the year before, and even for nurses it goes from 19% to 37%. As for users, utilisation more than triples, from 11% to 36%. But the entry of AI into everyday 'reality' is mostly independent of structured implementation as well as skills.

As the Observatory certifies in its report, dissemination is limited in healthcare companies. Moreover, only 30% of doctors are trained in AI and overall only 2% of specialists have 'good' or 'very good' skills in the four areas identified by the Observatory: among basic knowledge, only a third of specialists are aware of 'hallucinations', while among skills related to the practical use of AI, only 17% recognise artificially generated content. Furthermore, only 15 per cent have good or very good skills in understanding the impacts on change management processes and less than half are aware that controlling the outputs produced by AI is part of their professional responsibilities. "AI today represents the possible new evolutionary leap in Italian digital healthcare," explains the Observatory's director, Chiara Sgarbossa. "Thanks to increasingly advanced technologies and an unprecedented availability of integrated and shared data, it can generate a profound impact on clinical practice and patient experience. Its diffusion, however,' she warns, 'requires responsibility and a sense of urgency: innovation runs faster than rules. The real challenge is how to govern the development of AI in an ethical, sustainable and inclusive way, defining skills, rules and tools'.

Words that resonate all the more appropriately when one looks at the use in the general public of generalist platforms, from ChatGpt to Copilot: of the 36% of citizens who have already used them, almost half (47%) did so in search of 'self-diagnosis'; while of the 38% of patients who use them (up from 17% in 2025) as many as 52% ask for an explanation of the results of clinical examinations. Meanwhile, GenAI solutions dedicated to health are on the way: 32% of citizens have heard of them (especially ChatGpt Health) and 11% say they would use them.

The 'AI revolution' asserts itself as a rapidly growing area of strategic interest for healthcare facilities (71%, i.e. +8% on 2025), in a context in which cybersecurity remains at the top of the priority areas for innovation (90%), followed by digital services to citizens (81%), electronic medical records (76%) and telemedicine (74%). Telemedicine, which in 2025 has seen the finalisation of all the interventions required for the regional platforms (Irt) developed within the Pnrr and which in health care companies has television as the most present service. In any case, the Observatory points out that at the beginning of 2026 'the tangible effects of the Pnrr investments on telemedicine have not yet manifested themselves, since the Irt are active but still in the diffusion phase. In the coming months,' the experts warn, 'it will therefore be crucial to support the transition of professionals from the current platforms to the new Irt, encouraging their full adoption'. Meanwhile, among physicians, the use of these tools remains stable, with 29% of specialists and family doctors having made Irts.

The use of other tools is growing: 77% of SSN specialists use the electronic medical record, which is now active in 82% of hospitals. And something is also moving on the electronic health record (Fascicolo sanitario elettronico - Fse) front: 48% of specialists use it (+4%), 67% of GPs (+10%), and 30% of nurses (+4%), although the integration gap between company systems and the Fse remains. User access to the ESF is up 11% and concerns 53% of citizens, but the problem of authorisation to consult the data remains.