Doctors at Cedars Sinai are experiencing a faster and more informed patient intake process, thanks to an artificial intelligence agent that communicates with patients ahead of urgent care appointments.
Jonathan Weiner, medical director of primary care at Cedars Sinai, said the CS Connect virtual care service aims to help build continuity in virtual care for the health system's patient population, and most patients coming to CS Connect are connecting for the first time because they have an acute need.
Since the virtual care AI agent is problem-focused and built to replicate a brick-and-mortar visit, it analyzes the patient responses against their chart in electronic health records and offers clinicians specific questions it might ask, Weiner said in this week's HIMSSCast.
In freeing the urgent care practice from the bulk of information gathering at the beginning of a visit, the tool – called AI Physician Mode – enables doctors to get to their own analysis and patient care decision-making faster, he explained.
The way Cedars Sinai's clinicians are using the tool, positioned as a separate tab in their workflow, replaces the nurse intake of a traditional office visit.
"Then, when you come in the room, you would ask some follow-up questions to get that history," said Weiner, who is joined this week by Ran Shaul, co-founder and chief product officer of New York-based K Health, the vendor of AI Physician Mode and other clinical AI platforms.
Shaul said a study of the tool's use at Cedars Sinai showed that when it comes to managing patients, the AI adheres better to clinical protocols, while human doctors are superior in interpreting medical nuance and understanding complicated cases.
Offering a chance to collaborate with an effective clinical AI agent, as opposed to just asking physicians to use AI to be more productive, has been welcomed by doctors because it can improve their practice.
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Talking points:
- AI communication with patients before visits
- How patient information is updated and aggregated
- Recruiting and onboarding experienced virtual care doctors
- Using the "K tab"
- A partner in the doctor's thinking process
- Continuous AI training and quality assurance
More about this topic:
Why infrastructure is key to combining AI and virtual care
Mayo Clinic launches new AI-assisted virtual care collaboration
How WellSpan Health is making innovative use of AI-enabled virtual nursing
How virtual care is evolving beyond traditional applications
AI chatbots boost patient engagement and reduce clinician workload, study shows
Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.
