Artificial Intelligence helps Munson health care provider focus more on patients, less on screens

DVIDS – News – Artificial Intelligence helps Munson health care provider focus more on patients, less on screens

Artificial Intelligence helps Munson health care provider focus more on patients, less on screens

FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS, UNITED STATES

12.31.1969

Story by Maria Christina Yager 

Munson Army Health Center Public Affairs

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — For Mikaela Altis, a physician assistant in Munson Army Health Center’s Department of Primary Care, adopting ambient listening technology has meant more eye contact with patients, more time for follow-up questions and fewer hours spent completing clinical notes after the workday ends

Ambient Listening is a safe and secure artificial intelligence-enabled documentation tool that captures the conversation between a patient and provider during a medical appointment and uses the medically relevant information to generate a draft clinical note

“It really lets us focus more on the patient during the visit,” Altis said. “A lot of times, you go into the room, and the provider is staring at the screen because they’re taking notes and clicking on things. With the ambient listening tool taking notes for us, it lets me sit, face the patient and make eye contact.”

Use of technology is voluntary for patients. Before activating it, the provider explains the tool and asks the patient for permission. If the patient declines, the recording is not started, and the appointment proceeds normally

“It is definitely the patient’s choice,” Altis said. “If they say yes, we start the recording. If they say no, we don’t, and we complete the visit as usual.”

The system includes safeguards to protect patient information. Providers access it through their individual accounts using their unique military credentials. A recording is associated with the provider’s schedule and can only be accessed through that provider’s login. The recording automatically deletes after 24 hours

The tool also separates medically relevant information from casual conversation. Altis said she initially wondered whether personal exchanges that help providers build rapport with patients—such as asking about their families, pets or recent moves—would appear in the medical record

“It is very good at not pulling in the private conversation,” she said. “It only pulls in the medical conversation.”

Ambient listening does not diagnose conditions, recommend treatment or make healthcare decisions. It documents what was discussed and creates a draft for the provider to review. The provider remains responsible for evaluating the patient, determining the plan of care, correcting the note as needed and signing it

“The thinking is still completely mine,” Altis said. “It is not adding things to the note that I didn’t say, and it is not trying to dictate what medical care I should give.”

That distinction may help reassure those who are hesitant to use artificial intelligence in a clinical setting. Altis considers ambient listening another tool available to providers, similar to standardized documentation templates. She uses it when it is appropriate for the type and complexity of the appointment

Altis said that the technology has been especially helpful during visits involving multiple medical concerns. She estimated it can reduce her documentation time by about half for more complex appointments

“When I’m addressing five or six things during a visit, it is saving me a ton of time,” she said. “When I’m done, I read through the note, make any corrections I need to make and sign it, rather than trying to type out the five or six things we just discussed.”

“I’m able to get back to patient messages sooner for urgent refills, or I may have a couple more minutes to call a patient about a test result rather than having them wait to schedule an appointment,” she said. “It is freeing up my time, which is still being used for patient care, just for some of the other things that have to be done every day.”

The technology can also improve the accuracy and timeliness of documentation when providers are unable to complete a note immediately after an appointment. Instead of trying to recall a detailed conversation several hours later, the provider can review the information captured during the visit

“I can go back to finish a chart later and it helps me more accurately complete it rather than trying to recall what a patient said six hours earlier,” Altis said. “I can see what we talked about and what I said for the plan of care. It makes me feel like I’m giving the patient the care they deserve.”

Altis said the system was easy to learn, requiring about a day for her to become comfortable with it. She now uses ambient listening during approximately 75 to 80 percent of her appointments, depending on the type of visit

For Altis, the benefits extend beyond documentation. Completing charts more efficiently helps her finish the workday on time and reduces the stress associated with carrying unfinished notes into the evening

“It has helped me feel like I’m providing better care because I can be present with the patient, accurately capture what we discussed and have more time to take care of the other patients who need us,” she said

At Munson, ambient listening is supporting healthcare delivery by giving providers more time to do what technology cannot—listen with empathy, exercise clinical judgment and connect with the person sitting across from them

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This work, Artificial Intelligence helps Munson health care provider focus more on patients, less on screens, by Maria Christina Yager, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright

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Munson Army Health Center
artificial inteligence
TRICARE beneficiaries
Defense Health Agency (DHA)
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Ambient Listening

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