From conversation to insight: the potential of AI in healthcare

The consultation is an important starting point. Research in outpatient settings has shown that the patient history can provide much of the information needed to reach a diagnosis (Peterson et al., 1992; Hampton et al., 1975). Across most EU countries, patients also have several doctor consultations each year (Eurostat, 2026). Together, these interactions represent a considerable amount of clinical information.

However, this information is not always immediately suitable for analysis. Conversations need to become clinical documentation, relevant information needs to be identified, and data often needs to be coded and standardised before it can be analysed at scale.

AI could help support several steps in this process. AI tools can assist with clinical documentation by converting conversations into notes. AI can also support the extraction and coding of information from clinical text. Research already points to potential efficiency gains in both areas (Duggan et al., 2025; Chomutare et al., 2025), although human review remains important to identify errors and ensure the quality of the final data (Taylor et al., 2026).

The result would be more structured and standardised healthcare data. This helps clinicians to make better decisions for the patient. But it also makes it easier to combine information across patients, organisations and data sources to support research and the generation of real-world evidence.

Interest in the potential of AI is already high across Europe. EU Member States see improved patient care as an important driver for AI adoption (WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2026), while healthcare providers are increasingly adopting or exploring AI solutions (European Commission, 2026). Yet successful implementation also depends on factors such as data quality, affordability, legal clarity, transparency, and human oversight.

AI offers an opportunity to make better use of information that already exists within healthcare. The value will depend on how well the technology supports healthcare professionals and how reliably the resulting data can be used.

💡 Explore the infographic below to see how healthcare information can move from conversation to structured data, and where AI could support that journey.