Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic has saved its nurses 30 seconds per In Basket message using generative AI.
Mayo Clinic initiated a project in early 2023 to implement the "augmented response technology," a tool that uses OpenAI's GPT language model, according to a March 4 blog post on Epic's website. This AI-driven system assists clinicians by generating initial responses to patient messages that have nonurgent medical questions.
Initially, the tool was tested with a select group of physicians, and it has since expanded to nurses across various departments at Mayo Clinic.
The tool has been able to generate draft responses to 3.9 million patient messages in 11 months saving nurses approximately 30 seconds per message, leading to potential monthly time savings of 1,500 hours across the organization, according to the post.
Further phases of expansion for this tool are scheduled for 2024, with the aim of providing access to the technology for all licensed practical nurses and registered nurses at Mayo Clinic by June.