Historically, patients valued the personal connection and conversations with their doctors above many other relationships. The advice given was often taken unquestioned. Times are changing, and just as AI has permeated so much of society, it is also permeating medical care. Interestingly, both patients and their doctors often see this as a plus.
The advent of electronic health records (EHR) has resulted in increased communication between patients and their clinicians. While this is certainly a plus for patients, the increasing number of EHR-delivered communications has added an even greater burden on physicians who are struggling to see the growing numbers of patients trying to come in to see them in the clinic.
One recent solution has been the use of AI-generated medical responses to address the situation. A recent study published in JAMA NETWORK OPEN explored patient satisfaction with AI-generated responses to medical questions compared to the clinician responses in the EHR. Patients were consistently more satisfied with the AI-generated responses.
Clearly, having to spend less time answering questions via EHR and spending more time seeing patients in person will likely reduce physician burn-out, which is increasing at an alarming rate. It also improves the efficiency of the clinical team by freeing up time for seeing patients.
The result is a win for both patients and their doctors. Patients get a more detailed and accurate response to their questions and doctors have more time to spend communication with patients in-person and on delivering the best medical care. What is most striking is that the AI-messages were deemed as highly empathetic.
Still to be seen is the accuracy of the responses as the AI is only as good as the information the patient inputs. There is a lot to be gained from an in-person conversation. So, it is important to realize that AI responses over EHR do not replace the need for in-person clinic visits. The second concern is of course security. HIPAA compliance has never been more important.
Remember, AI-communications do not offer examinations or clinical findings. The AI BeCare employs delivers that quantitative neurologic examination that your doctor can use to optimize your care despite the growing shortage of clinicians.
Reference: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2829943