Nearly all clinicians in Saudi Arabia are already saving time or seeing benefits from using artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, according to the Philips Future Health Index 2026 report.
The report found that 99.5% of clinicians in Saudi Arabia are either saving time or experiencing tangible benefits from AI, compared with a global average of 91%.
The findings come as Saudi Arabia continues its healthcare transformation under Vision 2030, with the Kingdom focusing on expanding healthcare capacity and moving towards more integrated, value-based care.
AI Helps Clinicians Handle More Patients
The report highlights several areas where healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia are seeing benefits from AI.
Around 80% of clinicians say AI has increased their capacity to see more patients, while 86% report improved workflow efficiency.
Saudi Arabia also ranked highest among the countries surveyed for several reported benefits of AI. These include increased consolidation of patient data, cited by 92% of healthcare professionals, improved quality of time spent with patients, reported by 89%, and increased capacity to see additional patients during a typical workday, reported by 80%.
Clinicians are also increasingly positive about AI’s potential. Around 90% believe the benefits of AI already outweigh the risks, while 89% believe it can improve patient outcomes. The latter figure represents a 10-percentage-point increase from the previous year.
Healthcare Leaders Supporting AI Adoption
The report found that 88% of clinicians in Saudi Arabia believe their organisation’s leadership is taking the right steps to implement AI-enabled tools. This was the highest figure among all countries included in the survey.
Marc Zora, CEO of Philips Middle East, Türkiye & Africa, said Saudi Arabia is moving from discussing the potential of AI to seeing its impact in everyday healthcare.
According to the report, AI is helping clinicians save time, support clinical decision-making, increase capacity and improve operational processes.
AI Could Give Clinicians More Time
Reducing administrative work is another area where AI is making an impact.
As many as 42% of clinicians who use AI report saving at least 132 hours annually on average. That is equivalent to more than three full working weeks.
The time saved is also being redirected towards other professional activities. Among clinicians who save time using AI, 92% say they use that time to train other healthcare professionals, while 88% use it for collaboration across care teams and 88% for professional development.
The report also found that 81% of clinicians say AI has improved their work-life balance.
More Patients and More Thorough Interactions
AI is not only helping clinicians handle more patients. The findings also point to potential improvements in the quality of patient interactions.
Clinicians report a median increase of seven additional patients per week, while 86% of those saving time through AI say the additional time allows for more thorough interactions with patients.
More than half of healthcare professionals surveyed also said AI had helped them identify or prevent a potential medical error at least three times during the previous three months.
Patients are also using AI for health-related information. Among patients using generative AI for health information, 86% say it saves them time, while 68% say it has helped them recognise when they need to see a doctor.
Human Care Remains Central
Despite the growing use of AI, the report shows that clinicians in Saudi Arabia continue to see human interaction as an important part of healthcare.
Around 85% of clinicians believe AI will never replace the relationships they build with patients, while 83% believe human interaction skills will become even more important as AI advances.
The findings point towards a future where AI works alongside healthcare professionals and patients rather than replacing the human elements of care.
Philips says the next step is to move from individual AI applications towards wider, responsible adoption across healthcare systems, supported by governance, training and collaboration between healthcare providers, technology companies and regulators.
The Future Health Index 2026 is based on research involving more than 2,000 healthcare professionals and over 20,000 patients across 10 countries. The Saudi Arabia findings provide a snapshot of how AI is being used across the Kingdom’s healthcare sector and the benefits clinicians and patients are reporting from its adoption.
