Copyright Newsweek
A new study from Sutter Health suggests that the use of ambient artificial intelligence (AI) note-taking platforms increased the working experience for clinicians by decreasing the administrative burden of documentation. The study found that ambient AI use was associated with decreased time in note-taking during appointments, improved clinician satisfaction and decreased cognitive load for physicians. The results, however, vary by gender and specialty. Why It Matters Burnout is a serious issue many physicians face. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), about 45 percent of physicians reported at least one symptom of burnout in 2023. This includes exhaustion, cynicism, difficulty concentrating, frustration or irritability, feeling overwhelmed, detachment and a sense of ineffectiveness. Burnout can be caused by many things. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a lot of feelings of burnout and early retirement for overwhelmed health care workers. But in everyday workplaces, time pressure, chaotic environments, a lack of adequate staffing or other resources and an inefficient culture can all be contributing factors. In the health care industry, burnout not only leads to low morale and retention, but it can also lead to medical errors that could harm patients and put health systems at legal and financial risk. “This study highlights the power of research to demonstrate the real-world value of emerging technologies,” Dr. Matthew Solomon, chief scientific officer at Sutter Health, told Newsweek in a statement. “It is a strong example of how Sutter is building a learning health system—one where knowledge is shared, scaled and applied to better support patients and care teams.” What To Know In recent years, the explosion of artificial intelligence has given rise to various administrative solutions that can help curb some of the causes of clinician burnout. One of these is administrative work that doctors must do in addition to providing care. According to this study from Sutter Health, increasing electronic health record (EHR) work, especially outside regular clinic working hours, is a major contributor to burnout and lack of well-being among physicians. The study notes that clinicians spend two hours documenting for every hour with patients. In-person and virtual scribes and ambient AI listening programs listen to consultations and generate notes for physicians to review. Sutter Health recently piloted an ambient AI platform to support clinician documentation and ran this study to measure the outcomes of 100 clinicians from primary care and numerous specialties using the AI platform Abridge. According to the open-ended survey questions, the benefits from ambient AI included improved comprehensiveness of notes, improved efficiency and improved visit experience. Clinicians also said the AI reduced their cognitive load and general burden of documentation and felt that this technology should be available to all clinicians. There were, however, some challenges reported with the ambient AI, as it was not fully embedded within the EHR and some people wanted other functions like the ability to turn on direct dictation. Given the current climate of depersonalization of medicine and overall dissatisfaction with work, the authors of the study said their findings suggest that ambient AI could serve as “a valuable means of renewing focus on the clinician-patient interaction rather than the burden of documentation, thus improving the experience for all.” What People Are Saying Dr. Veena Jones, senior author of the study and Sutter Health’s chief medical information officer, said in a statement to Newsweek: "Our research findings demonstrate the potential of ambient AI to not only save clinicians time, but also enhance their well-being by alleviating the burden associated with documentation tasks. This support also has a ripple effect for patients, who lie at the heart of our work. Ambient AI helps clinicians be more present with patients during their appointments, so they can focus more closely on their care.”
