THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
The Promise of Augmented Intelligence in Health Care : Let AI Do the Boring Stuff
Augmented Intelligence ( AI ) is increasingly heralded as a game-changer in health care , promising to revolutionize various aspects of clinical practice . While the popular imagination often gravitates toward AI ’ s potential to diagnose diseases and guide clinical decision making , the true , immediate opportunity for AI lies in alleviating the overwhelming administrative burdens that plague the health care system today . I believe the error that the AI hype machine has made is in threatening physicians to “ replace ” them . Instead , I believe that focusing on how its greatest potential rests in non-clinical functions , particularly , streamlining documentation and reducing the administrative workload will lead to the greatest immediate benefit , while mitigating risk in the deployment of a new technology .
Augmented Intelligence vs . Artificial Intelligence
Words matter , and as physicians try to define the narrative , I want to insist on and encourage our use of the word “ augmented ,” rather than “ artificial ” when we refer to AI . While AI conjures images of autonomous robots and machines replacing humans , augmented intelligence focuses on enhancing human capabilities . In health care , this means using AI to complement and support the work of clinicians rather than replace them . Augmented intelligence supports decision-making , accelerates workflows and reduces error , all while keeping a physician “ in-the-loop .” 1
The Administrative Burden Crisis in Health Care
6 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE by ALEXANDER DING , MD , MS , MBA , FACR
Physicians across the Commonwealth ( and the country writ large ) know all too well the growing administrative demands that eat away at time meant for patient care . Regulatory requirements , payment documentation , coding , billing and other clerical tasks consume a disproportionate amount of time . A recent study from the American Medical Association found that for every hour physicians spend with patients , they spend nearly two hours on administrative tasks . 2 This burden not only contributes to physician burnout , but also hampers the efficiency of the entire health care system . Enter augmented intelligence as a solution .
The Killer App 3 : Ambient AI for Documentation
Of the many different AI solutions I have seen pitched and deployed , the one I have seen the most physician excitement ( and quite frankly the most “ oohs and aahs ”) is the use of ambient AI to address documentation challenges . Medical documentation has long been the bane of physicians ’ existence , with complex systems that require detailed notes to meet compliance , billing and legal requirements . The problem being that clinical notes no longer look like clinically useful notes , but rather reams of check boxes , or copy-and-paste Frankenstein ’ s monsters , and clinically irrelevant junk that meets compliance or billing needs , rather than representing a patient ’ s clinical assessment and care plan .
Electronic health records ( EHRs ) are also clunky , poorly designed and not created with the end-user ( i . e . the clinician ) in mind . Ask most physicians , and you ’ ll hear them describe it as “ rage-inducing ” or “ soul-sucking .” This has manifested itself as spending hours after clinic or late into the night entering data into EHRs . Another recent study from the AMA showed that clinicians spent almost 6 hours of an 11.4-hour workday in the EHR : 4.5 hours during clinic hours and 1.4 hours after clinic hours . 4 This is so rampant of a practice it has its own name , “ pajama time ,” with a clear link between EHR usability and clinician burnout . 5
Ambient AI , through the use of natural language processing ( NLP ) and machine learning , can change this paradigm . Ambient AI systems , like the ones currently being tested or deployed in health care settings , can listen to patient-physician conversations and automatically generate detailed clinical notes in real-time . The system captures key medical information , inputs it into the correct