Ask a doctor the toughest part of their job, and time management may top the list. Between caring for patients, answering inbox messages, managing charts and handling endless paperwork, many doctors feel burned out — and artificial intelligence may finally offer some relief. Here are the latest tools, from AI note-taking to diagnostic chatbots, changing the medical landscape.
Ambient Listening
Note-taking during appointments can be distracting – but doing it later eats up time and could compromise accuracy. Ambient listening tools record and transcribe patient-clinician conversations, then feed summaries into the medical chart.
“Within a minute, it organizes everything into a note that represents how a doctor thinks,” says Dr. James Bigham, a family medicine physician with UW Health.
Doctors typically give patients a choice to opt out and can recording anytime for off-the-record topics. Bigham says the tool shaves a few hours off his workday – enough to make it home for dinner – and allows him to focus more on patients rather than on a screen during appointments.
“We can use the computer as a tool when we need to pull up labs or a growth chart,” says pediatric gastroenterologist Dr. Ankur Chugh, associate chief medical information officer of AI at Children’s Wisconsin. “It’s an afterthought, not a central part of the visit.”
Chart Summarization
Your medical chart can contain thousands of documents. AI-based tools can comb through charts and summarize everything that happened since your last visit – specialist, urgent care and emergency department visits, lab results or electronic messages to other clinicians.
“If I haven’t seen someone in a year, an automatic summary of notes from all other providers helps me be more thorough and efficient in our appointment,” says Chugh.
With the summary, patients also don’t need to remember everything about their own medical history – or recount stressful medical events. “I had a patient with a difficult diagnosis, and clinicians often asked her to go back through everything,” says Dr. Anai Kothari, surgical oncologist with Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin. “This way, we get key information without patients doing extra work.”
Medical Chatbots
Doctors commonly consult medical studies, but sifting through an ever-growing body of research to find the best antibiotic for an infection can be time-consuming. Medical chatbots for doctors such as OpenEvidence aggregate relevant research – like healthcare ChatGPT.
“It helps us make sure we’re treating people based on the most recent, evidence-based information,” says Kothari.
Dr. Seema Afsari, a family medicine physician and owner of Vibrance Integrative Primary Care in Whitefish Bay, says this can be a major time-saver.
“As primary care providers, we’re often the first stop for every question, so a quick way to crunch down the literature is helpful.”
Rather than a diagnostic tool, chatbots are like a gut check – think using a calculator to check your work.
“There’s no situation where AI is implementing a care plan,” says Dr. Betsy Winga, Milwaukee-based chief medical information officer for ambulatory care at Advocate Aurora Health. “There’s always a human in the loop saying, ‘Does that make sense?’”
**What Do Doctors Think About Patients Using AI? **
You had a burning health question. AI had an answer (and a few emojis). What’s your real doctor’s take on Drs. Claude and ChatGPT?
“I think it’s important patients learn how to use AI. We want them to feel empowered, and chatbots can help. But AI isn’t always accurate, so come see your doctor and get that information vetted.” – Dr. Anai Kothari, surgical oncology
“We understand patients want answers quickly, but checking on AI probably makes people more anxious overall. Doctors want to have conversations that put symptoms and lab results in context.” – Dr. Seema Afsari, family medicine
“I’ll never judge a patient for looking something up with AI, but I worry misinformation could cause harm. I don’t want someone to postpone a visit or pursue the wrong treatment.” – Dr. James Bigham, family medicine
“I have no problem with patients trying to figure out what’s going on. I do the same thing at 11 p.m. if something hurts. Bring that information to a visit or message your clinician so we can talk about whether it’s accurate and how to navigate next steps.” – Dr. Ankur Chugh, pediatric gastroenterology