This article was written by Osama Hashmi, MD, Dermatologist, Co-founder and CEO of Impiricus, an AI-powered hub for HCPs.
How Ethical AI Can Transform Clinical Decision-Making and Restore Trust in Healthcare Engagement
Physicians today face a paradox: they are surrounded by more medical information than ever, yet often struggle to access the pertinent insights they need, when they need them. From clinical guidelines and journal articles to EHR alerts and pharmaceutical updates, the sheer volume of content has created an overload crisis. In fact, physicians often receive more than 100 emails a day, which not only disrupts clinical workflows but also contributes to burnout, delays in care, and growing skepticism toward the systems meant to support them.
The Cost of Irrelevant Content
The inefficiency of information delivery in healthcare is not just a technological issue—it’s a systemic one. The pharmaceutical industry continues to rely on outdated engagement tactics—rep visits, overloaded portals, and mass email campaigns—that no longer align with how physicians prefer to learn or interact. Such legacy strategies waste billions annually and directly affect drug adoption, revenue, and ultimately, patient care.
According to Athena Health, 94% of physicians agree that receiving the right clinical data at the right time is critical yet , 63% report feeling overwhelmed by the daily volume of information. Despite constant promotional messaging, physicians still lack the resources they need. In a 2025 survey deployed to the Impiricus HCP Network, 43% of respondents wanted more educational resources and 39% sought more insurance coverage and financial assistance information from pharmaceutical companies to better support treatment decisions.
Simultaneously, physicians frequently encounter AI-powered coverage algorithms that deny patients essential services or equipment. These denials are often subtle, masked as alternative suggestions that delay care and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. While algorithmic decision-making in insurance is not new, the rise of AI has made these processes harder to challenge.
Ethical AI as a Clinical Ally
Ethical AI offers a powerful counterbalance to current challenges. When designed with transparency, accountability, and clinical nuance in mind, AI can serve as a smart filter: curating, prioritizing, and delivering content that is timely, relevant, and actionable. Instead of overwhelming, it can guide physicians to the right pathways in moments of uncertainty. Key applications include:
- Clinical Decision Support: AI can synthesize patient data, medical literature, and treatment guidelines to assist physicians in making timely, evidence-based decisions.
- Patient Education: AI-driven tools can deliver personalized, understandable health information to patients, improving adherence and health literacy.
- HCP Education: AI can tailor educational content to a physician’s specialty, practice setting, and patient population, helping them stay current without being overwhelmed.
- Operational Efficiency: AI can automate administrative tasks such as documentation, prior authorization, and scheduling, freeing up time for direct patient care.
- Pharmaceutical Engagement: AI can streamline how physicians access drug information, support programs, and clinical data, reducing friction and improving trust.
But effectiveness depends on how ethically AI is developed and deployed. Ethical AI must be trained on diverse datasets, surface multiple perspectives when consensus is evolving, and maintain cultural sensitivity across literacy levels. Crucially, it must guard against “hallucinations”—inaccurate or fabricated content—with validation, oversight, and monitoring.
Transparency as a Non-Negotiable
As AI becomes more embedded in healthcare systems, transparency must be a foundational principle. Physicians must be able to trace how an AI system arrived at a conclusion, especially when that conclusion affects patient care or access to treatment. Systems that cut costs without context, exclude human oversight, or use outdated models are not just inefficient—they are dangerous.
Ethical AI, by contrast, is built on continuous monitoring, clear boundaries between automation and human judgment, and a deep respect for the gravity of healthcare decisions. It recognizes that these systems are not static and must evolve alongside clinical practice and patient needs.
Rebuilding Trust Through Smarter Engagement
AI is also reshaping how physicians engage with pharma. Historically, physicians had to navigate layers of reps, websites, MSLs to get answers, sometimes waiting weeks. This created friction and eroded trust.
Forward-thinking organizations are now adopting AI-powered engagement tools that deliver content tailored to a physician’s preferences, specialty and clinical context in real-time. These systems are not just faster; they’re more relevant and respectful of the physician’s time.
This shift requires more than new tools; it demands a cultural change. Pharma leaders are redefining KPIs, integrating digital and in-person channels, and training hybrid sales teams to use new insights and technology. The result? Smarter engagement that drives measurable impact on both business outcomes and patient care.
Reaching the Unreachable and the Underserved
A critical frontier for AI in healthcare is ensuring equitable access to information and support. Community physicians who serve marginalized populations often operate with limited access to pharmaceutical resources, educational updates, and support programs. Yet these providers care for some of the most vulnerable patients. Roughly 30% of U.S. HCPs remain unresponsive to traditional channels, reachable only via real-time channels like SMS.
AI-driven platforms can help close those gaps. For example, one oncology campaign powered by Impiricus targeting previously unreachable prescribers saw a 145% lift in prescriptions, connecting more patients to treatment. Another initiative reached low-see dermatologists outside of traditional sales territories and drove $33 million in revenue. These outcomes reflect a broader truth: when content is relevant and well-timed, physicians respond.
The impact goes beyond engagement metrics. In one case, when a patient lost access to treatment because they could not afford paying thousands per visit for a necessary medication, their physician learned—through an AI-curated channel—that a pharma-sponsored program offered the drug for free. The issue wasn’t the drug manufacturer—it was the insurance company acting as a bottleneck and a lack of access to patient assistance information. Direct, personalized, and smarter engagement improved outcomes and cut costs.
Ethical AI isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about equity. By cutting through red tape and surfacing the right information at the right time, AI can reduce disparities and improve outcomes across diverse communities.
A Call to Action
The future of healthcare depends on our ability to move from noise to value. This means building AI systems that are not only intelligent, but also ethical, transparent, and physician-centered. It means rethinking engagement strategies to prioritize relevance over reach. And it means ensuring that every physician, regardless of location or resources, has access to the tools and insights they need to deliver the best possible care.
By embracing these principles, the healthcare industry can restore clarity, trust, and compassion to the physician experience and ultimately, to the patients they serve.
