Hospital Plans to Replace Radiologists with AI, Raising Concerns About Patient Safety

AI in Healthcare: NYC Hospital CEO Calls for Regulatory Changes to Replace Radiologists

The chief executive of the US's largest public hospital, Mitchell H. Katz, MD, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, has expressed a willingness to replace radiologists with artificial intelligence (AI) in certain cases, pending regulatory approval.

According to Crain's New York Business, Katz made this statement at a panel discussion on March 25, where he noted that AI is increasingly being used to analyze mammograms and X-rays. This has the potential to reduce spending on radiologists, who have become more expensive as imaging demand increases.

Katz, who has led the 11-hospital organization since 2018, believes that AI has strong potential to improve access to breast cancer screening. He suggested that hospitals could save costs by letting AI handle first readings, while radiologists verify any unusual results.

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At the same panel, David Lubarsky, MD, MBA, who heads Westchester Medical Center Health Network, reported strong results from the AI used by his network. Lubarsky claimed that the AI misses very few breast cancer cases and is "actually better than human beings."

Lubarsky also noted that for women who are not considered high-risk, the AI's test results are wrong only about 3 times out of 10,000.

Katz urged fellow hospital CEOs to consider pushing for regulatory changes in New York rules to allow AI to read images without a radiologist, Crain's reported. In such cases, radiologists would review only abnormal results. Sandra Scott of One Brooklyn Health supported the idea, citing tight hospital budgets.

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However, not all radiologists agree with Katz's remarks. Mohammed Suhail, a San Diego-based radiologist with North Coast Imaging, criticized Katz's comments and warned that relying only on AI could risk patient safety. Suhail argued that hospitals are willing to cut costs even if it means patient harm, as long as it is legal.

The debate has also spread to social media, where Rich Duszak, MD, a radiologist and critic of Katz's remarks, wrote, "Radiologist here. I'm ready to replace ill-informed hospital administrators with AI."