UNC Health Southeastern Providers Use AI to Enhance Patient Experience
For decades, the traditional interaction between a doctor and patient in the office setting has required the provider to take notes or look away from the patient to enter information into a computer to document relevant aspects of the medical interaction. With new technology, patients will now have the full attention of their doctor, making for a much more meaningful office visit. These providers will likely also be happier with their chosen profession because of advances that have enabled them to provide more personal care, manage their time more efficiently and achieve a proper work-life balance.
UNC Health Southeastern has joined an initiative through UNC Health to use Artificial Intelligence, or AI, to interact with patients in a new and more engaging way. Using an App on their phone and with consent of the patient, providers can now record an interaction with a patient, while AI securely drafts the relevant clinical portions of the conversation directly into the medical record, digitally and accurately capturing information that is important for the treatment and diagnosis as part of more comprehensive clinical notes.
According to UNC Health Southeastern Chief Medical Officer Joseph Roberts, MD, the program is unique to UNC Health Southeastern in our region.
“The AI tool sits quietly on the counter, almost like it’s not even there,” said Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist James Slauterbeck, MD, of UNC Health Orthopedics at Southeastern Health Park. While the doctor talks with the patient, the AI listens, and documents everything that’s said. It works in real-time, which means the draft note is ready for the physician to review as soon as the visit ends. One interesting feature is that it can understand over 28 different languages. This really helps when the patient doesn't speak English well.”
Benefits to the AI transcribed interaction include allowing the provider to give the patient their undivided attention during their meeting, and increased accuracy, ensuring that no details are omitted. Notes collected during the AI recording are viewed, edited, and ultimately approved by the provider.
“Instead of spending time typing on a computer, the doctor can now focus fully on the patient,” added Dr. Slauterbeck. “That means more eye contact, more face-to-face time, and real conversations. A physician can sit in a chair, facing the patient, and spend the office visit time with the patient listening, caring, and letting the data recording from the visit occur in real time without interfering with the personal interaction with the patient.”
For a patient having orthopedic surgery, for example, the notes become a tool that helps along the continuum of care, including tracking insurance through to rehabilitation.
“The AI scribing tool bridges the gap between surgery and rehab by ensuring therapists have timely and accurate data which optimizes patient recovery,” said Pembroke Physical Therapy Manager Derick Coe. “It also allows the therapist to have better access to postsurgical notes, which ensures better continuity between them, the patient, and surgeon, facilitating better outcomes for the patient. The notes that we now read from the surgeons that use the AI scribing tool allows therapists to improve care coordination which, in turn, assists us to make necessary adjustments of the rehab plans in a more timely manner.”
While the program was not specifically designed for the emergency setting, providers at UNC Health Southeastern are piloting the software with positive impacts.
“Even in the testing stages, this is an incredibly powerful and important tool,” said Emergency Services Medical Director Eric Misenar, MD. “By using this tool, our doctors can concentrate on talking to and examining our patients. We no longer have to worry about what information we will document, as all the relevant information will be charted by this tool. In addition, it provides a list of each of the patient's complaints and what we are doing to address each of them. Although we are still early into our journey with the AI scribe, we are very confident about the future of this tool. Being able to focus exclusively on our patient and have their charting reflect exactly what was discussed will help to improve the health of our patients, and the well-being of our physicians.”
Approximately 60 providers across the UNC Health Southeastern system have been trained on the technology with many more scheduled for training and implementation in the future as the program continues to roll out, system wide.
“We have providers in orthopedics, emergency services, primary care, and at Gibson Cancer Center using the tool very effectively,” said UNC Health Southeastern President and CEO Chris Ellington. “So far, we’ve seen our emergency department satisfaction scores increase because the provider can talk directly to the patient, giving their undivided attention, versus the quick in and out to write notes while the interaction is fresh on their minds. This results in more comprehensive information, which informs the overall care spectrum and improves the quality of care for patients in our community.”
Patients who are interested in learning more about this AI technology, which is enhancing the patient experience as well as provider satisfaction, should ask their provider.
In addition to offering services you’d expect from a community healthcare system, UNC Health Southeastern provides a number of specialized services that are unique to our system and not available anywhere else in the region. The nonprofit system, which is part of UNC Health, offers a combination of acute care, intensive care and psychiatric services to more than 13,000 inpatients and 50,000 emergency patients annually. It is our mission to provide exceptional care for our diverse region; offer the highest quality standards in a safe environment; and provide compassionate care provided by a committed team. At UNC Health Southeastern, together, we will improve the health and well-being of the region we serve. We are Here for you. Here for good. To learn more, visit UNCHealthSE.org.
