Main image courtesy of Health-E3.

It’s no secret that clinicians of all varieties have been experiencing a high degree of burnout since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 it reached an all-time high of 53% experiencing some degree of burnout. Thankfully, those numbers have started to drop below 50%, but there is still much room for improvement in the healthcare field. One tool to help clinicians in all specialities reduce their cognitive load and improve patient care is with the help of ambient AI platforms.

• This article will discuss:
  
  • What ambient AI is in healthcare
  • Ambient AI platforms and the impact on healthcare
  • The benefits of having ambient AI in your practice

AI has been making an impact in healthcare in a big way, in addition to helping reduce the amount of burnout in providers. It is not meant to replace doctors, but rather assist them and help reduce some of their administrative tasks. Those facilities that have implemented an ambient AI medical scribe platform have seen good results, and the technology behind the AI systems is only going to improve—so including an AI platform might be the right move for you.

What is ambient AI in healthcare?

Get to know what ambient AI technology is and how it works

AI is in a lot of places in healthcare, and one of the most prominent types is with an ambient AI platform. An ambient medical scribe is an application that can be downloaded to any smart device or used in a web browser. The clinician gains consent from the patient, and then turns the app on. Much like Siri or Alexa, the application listens in the background to the conversation taking place during the encounter. It transcribes what is being said, and formulates this into a note that will include all the patient’s information and what was discussed that day.

Once it is approved, the note will be included in the patient’s EHR and is a part of their medical history. AI scribes use natural language processing (NLP) to transcribe what is being said between doctor and patient, they use advanced algorithms and machine learning to understand the preferences of providers, as well as data analysis to provide additional insight or information. The type of ambient AI technology that AI scribes are designed with specific parameters that include: 

• Context cues. It’s essential for an ambient scribe to know when to start its job, and it relies on context clues and contextual awareness to do this. Typically it is when the doctor or patient starts speaking about the reason for their visit. AI scribes can filter out small talk or conversations that are not related to the medical visit.

• Centralization. In order to be useful to healthcare staff, the information gathered from the application must be able to sync with an EHR system. Documentation gathered from it is centrally stored for all members of the team to access.

• Intelligence. AI scribes use algorithms and data analysis to continue to learn and create even more accurate outputs for providers.

Ambient AI Platforms: Impact on Healthcare

AI applications are doing a lot to help out the healthcare field

Although AI scribes have been making their mark in healthcare for a few years, there are still facilities and practitioners who have not had the opportunity to try them out. This could be for a variety of reasons including:

• Not having the budget for it
• Being wary of how much it actually helps
• Intimidated by all the different options
• Privacy concerns

These are all valid reasons, but ambient AI platforms have been making real and measurable differences in the lives of clinicians and patients, and are changing the way that healthcare establishments are run. There are a lot of ways that these applications are making an impact everyday, but we thought it would be helpful to highlight some of the top ways. 

Mitigating burnout

The fact that over 50% of providers at one time felt that they were burned out and overloaded with work should be a very telling statistic. To reach that state, providers must be dealing with a challenging workload of seeing patients, completing administrative tasks like notes, and potentially having less staff to help along the way. This is the recipe for burnout, and one of the major factors contributing to it is the large amount of administrative tasks still required of practitioners. 

When a provider sees a patient, they are not only responsible for having a conversation and learning what brought them in, but they also need to create a note to document this. This means that they often need to divide their attention between the patient and their screen, inputting information as the patient speaks. This takes away their focus and can be very distracting, leading to potential mistakes. Clinicians want to focus on their patients, not creating notes. If the notes are not complete during the encounter, they’ll need to be finished after, at the end of the day, or on the provider’s own free time. Bringing clerical work like notes home disrupts their work/life balance, and leads to burnout.

Ambient medical scribes can take this burden away from providers because it creates the complete note as the encounter progresses. Practitioners can put their attention solely on the patient, enhancing the relationship and level of trust. When it’s over, the note is already prepared, more accurately than a human, and just needs final approval. This can save minutes per patient, which really adds up. 

Reducing documentation

Putting administrative tasks like note creation in the capable hands of an ambient medical scribe is one of the best ways to reduce the administrative documentation that is essential, but an extra burden to providers. They want to focus on the clinical care of patients, not the clerical notes and forms that are necessary. Creating notes, updating the EHR, and ensuring that the right codes are included are time-consuming and there is a high chance of errors or omissions. AI scribes are a great solution to this concern, as the notes they create are more accurate and allow the clinician to focus on the care of the patient.

As the encounter progresses, the ambient scribe transcribes the information and puts it into the format of the note, so all the necessary information is immediately available. The application can also use its data analysis capabilities to suggest next steps or offer insight into possible treatment options that may benefit the patient. AI scribes will also add the correct medical coding to each part of the patient’s note, ensuring that the information that goes out on a claim is correct the first time, reducing the chances of a denial.

Once the note is approved it is automatically synced (or the provider can copy/paste) into the EHR, so all team members have access to the most up to date information. 

Better communication among the healthcare staff

Healthcare facilities have a variety of staff that contribute to patient care, and everyone needs to be up to date on the status of all kinds of important functions. Using the centralized nature of ambient AI platforms is a great way to ensure that the care team is coordinated and updates regarding patient status and treatment plans are easily shared. Automatic syncing of notes with the EHR ensures that no matter where a practitioner is accessing the information, it is going to be the most current. 

Communication between all members of the healthcare facility is paramount in order to ensure a high level of care for patients, and AI scribes can streamline this process so that it works more efficiently without the need for additional workload. 

Reduction in medical errors

Although no one likes to admit it, everyone has the potential to make a mistake. This is true for those in the healthcare field as well, but any mistakes and omissions here could have significant repercussions. Using AI medical scribes reduces the chances of a mistake, especially when it comes to taking notes. These applications are very accurate when transcribing information into the note, and what’s even better, they catch information that humans might miss or just not hear correctly. 

When all the patient information is accurately recorded, it reduces the chances of something getting misinterpreted or left out of their EHR--which can have major impacts in the future. Because clinicians no longer need to divert their attention between patient and note taking, there’s less of a chance that an error occurs.

This is especially true when it comes to medical coding and billing. Ambient medical scribes not only create a note from a transcription and summary, but they can also include medical codes at the point of care. This is a fantastic time-saving way to ensure that everything that took place, from orders for treatment, prescriptions, and even additional testing, are properly coded by the time the encounter is over.

Medical coding is another part of the revenue cycle that is very susceptible to errors when either clinicians or medical coders include the wrong code, or don’t include all the codes that are necessary--leaving out potential items for revenue. AI scribes are much more accurate at coding, resulting in less errors and less denied claims. 

Improved patient outcomes

And perhaps one of the biggest impacts that ambient AI platforms have had on healthcare is the improved outcomes for patients. Burned out providers can’t give the best care possible to their patients, no matter how much they want to. Medical errors can be harmful and result in reduced patient satisfaction as well. Harnessing the power of AI to relieve providers of the burden of documentation and other administrative tasks is a great way to improve the relationship between the doctor and patient, as well as ensure they’re receiving the best care possible.  

What are the advantages of using AI in healthcare?

Recapping why ambient AI platforms can make such a difference in healthcare

Adding an ambient AI platform to your healthcare facility or practice is a great way to ensure providers can be at the top of their game, so they can give the best care possible to patients. Their impact is only going to expand in scope, and as more practitioners see the benefits of using AI, they’ll definitely experience:

• A reduction in the cognitive load of practitioners, allowing them to focus their time and expertise on clinical care
• Faster, accurate diagnoses are achievable when you engage in the data analysis that’s available with AI platforms
• Organized and streamlined processes that allow healthcare teams to stay in constant communication and easily coordinate the care of patients thanks to the centralized location of information and instant syncing

Will you make the switch and include ambient AI platforms at your healthcare practice?

Ambient AI platforms have been making a large impact on healthcare practices of all sizes and specialties. It not only makes it easier for providers to give better care to patients, but it can also contribute to better patient outcomes and satisfaction levels. If you want to include an ambient AI medical scribe at your facility, consider checking out Playback Health, which offers users a full suite of ambient AI assistance.