INSIDE WVSMA
Message from the President
The Trouble with Technology
Suzanne Gharib, MD
For my letter in this edition of the West Virginia Medical Journal, I want to broach a topic about which I have very mixed feelings. In the last couple of weeks, we have had an upgrade in our electronic medical record( EMR) system, which has resulted in some glitches in the dictation software. This came on the heels of my iPhone getting a software upgrade, which adds artificial intelligence( AI) to the functionality of the phone at every level. Typically, I’ m fairly comfortable with technology and able to cope well with the subtle changes software updates frequently bring. Unfortunately, these two updates have not been as well received by me.
daily lives. AI is currently making its way into EMR systems across the country. Most systems have some version that is being beta-tested in one form or another. This idea is both exciting and anxiety-inducing. The benefits are seemingly obvious with discussion of streamlining the most frustrating part of our day: documentation. This is done via speech recognition and natural language processing tools, which are essentially present in the EMR, analyzing the doctor / patient conversation and entering that data into the EMR. Even more interesting, there are AI-driven clinical decision support systems that can point out missing information and make suggestions for diagnoses and treatment. The implications of where that can take medicine are genuinely amazing. Potentially, AI can do what EMR was supposed to do when it was first introduced— help improve patient care by using technology to good benefit.
As interesting and fascinating as the potential for AI is, my recent experiences with technology have brought my cynicism into the picture. I am of the generation of physicians who made the transition from paper charting to EMR systems. I can attest to the fact that in many ways, paper charts were actually more efficient, whether from a documentation standpoint or ease of use with regard to placing orders, writing prescriptions, and so forth. Despite the promise of EMR, the entire system has been disappointing in many ways. Too many systems exist, most of which do not communicate with one another, presenting substantial logistical difficulties. Most EMRs are also unwieldy, focusing more on data entry and prioritizing that over patient care or face-to-face time with patients.
Several weeks after this, I find myself struggling to find my emails as AI is currently sorting through and classifying them in terms of type and relevance. I would think this would make my life easier as there is often substantial junk mail that filters into various email accounts. While this is true to some extent with some junk mail being excluded from my typical folder, I have missed emails I feel are important because of how the AI system is classifying them. I have also had a very annoying week at work due to the glitches in the dictation software. I’ m doubling my work just chasing the random errors it has been making, and I’ ve spent an inordinate amount of time speaking with the IT team to straighten out the issues.
In a roundabout fashion, these experiences had me considering the implications of incorporating AI into our
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