Investigating Expectations and Needs of Medical Professionals Regarding the Use of Large Language Models: A Study at German University Clinics

Investigating Expectations and Needs of Medical Professionals Regarding the Use of Large Language Models: A Study at German University Clinics | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Investigating Expectations and Needs of Medical Professionals Regarding the Use of Large Language Models: A Study at German University Clinics Juraj Vladika, Alexander Fichtl, Florian Matthes This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6458281/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been driven by Large Language Models (LLMs), powerful tools capable of generating coherent text and solving diverse analytical tasks. While LLMs hold great potential to enhance healthcare by assisting physicians and improving patient treatment, their clinical adoption is limited, and there is a lack of statistically grounded information on the opinions of medical professionals regarding LLM usage. To address this gap, we conducted an online survey from April to October 2024, investigating the attitudes and perceptions of medical personnel on the use of LLMs. We gathered insights from 120 participants across five German university clinics, including physicians, medical students, and administrative staff.Findings show that many participants already use LLMs for research support, summarization, translation, and report drafting. Most believe LLMs will positively influence their field, acknowledge their potential to automate mundane tasks, and believe they will help to achieve a more personalized, evidence-based, and cost-effective patient treatment. However, concerns were shown regarding their opaque nature, data privacy, and the potential loss of patient trust. Participants overwhelmingly feel their institutions are not well-prepared for LLM adoption, with suggestions for improvement including increased education and specialized training, investments in digitalization and infrastructure, ensuring legal compliance, and encouraging technological openness. We hope these insights will inform the design of future medical AI solutions. Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing/Computer science Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing/Information technology Health sciences/Medical research Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Health care/Health policy Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryTables.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 26 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 28 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 25 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 10 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 30 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Apr, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 29 Apr, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 29 Apr, 2025 Editor invited by journal 24 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 15 Apr, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6458281","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":443517310,"identity":"c1a8ff2a-1ad4-4f42-add2-657efdbfd035","order_by":0,"name":"Juraj Vladika","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA60lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYgIcHAIMPAkNjMwFABFjQgSgsPRMsZA8JaYACoJYGZgbGNCC3MM3IffrBgOMzD357cbPBz3p/EtQ3MGx/gddiMdGMJCaAWiTMPmxN7txkkbjvAVozXGsYZaQxALWk8DDcSmw/wgrXwmEkQ0ML8A6RFHqjl4N85YC3mPwhoYQPaYsNjANSSzNsAsQWfDgbGnmdsFhIGNjyGQL8YyxwzNt52mK0Yr8MM29OYb0tUSMjJHU9/LPmmRk522/HmjR/wamkABrQESggx43UWA4M8yHF4DR0Fo2AUjIJRAAC4f0a+7KHn9QAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Juraj","middleName":"","lastName":"Vladika","suffix":""},{"id":443517311,"identity":"9aee21e8-813d-45a7-8512-b139e1497b51","order_by":1,"name":"Alexander Fichtl","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Alexander","middleName":"","lastName":"Fichtl","suffix":""},{"id":443517312,"identity":"6350d4a1-2e7b-4f79-9175-94757f6695c0","order_by":2,"name":"Florian Matthes","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Technical University of Munich","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Florian","middleName":"","lastName":"Matthes","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-16 00:08:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6458281/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6458281/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45245-2","type":"published","date":"2026-03-26T16:13:19+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":80772207,"identity":"e4294f67-ceb9-43c5-b13b-c0a0c37c2646","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-17 02:06:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":678250,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"LaTeXsubmissionfiles.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6458281/v1_covered_e99c8640-cac1-457c-b6c4-182cdf0a589e.pdf"},{"id":80771885,"identity":"26410b4d-0412-41f3-81d7-66eca5eb5f8e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-17 01:57:59","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":61014,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SupplementaryTables.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6458281/v1/08be8fc6b633c285a083235e.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Investigating Expectations and Needs of Medical Professionals Regarding the Use of Large Language Models: A Study at German University Clinics","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6458281/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6458281/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been driven by Large Language Models (LLMs), powerful tools capable of generating coherent text and solving diverse analytical tasks. While LLMs hold great potential to enhance healthcare by assisting physicians and improving patient treatment, their clinical adoption is limited, and there is a lack of statistically grounded information on the opinions of medical professionals regarding LLM usage. To address this gap, we conducted an online survey from April to October 2024, investigating the attitudes and perceptions of medical personnel on the use of LLMs. We gathered insights from 120 participants across five German university clinics, including physicians, medical students, and administrative staff.Findings show that many participants already use LLMs for research support, summarization, translation, and report drafting. Most believe LLMs will positively influence their field, acknowledge their potential to automate mundane tasks, and believe they will help to achieve a more personalized, evidence-based, and cost-effective patient treatment. 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