Medical knowledge doubles about every 73 days, according to research, but it can take an average of 17 years for new discoveries to become standard practice. This is part of the reason why Grand Blanc, Mich.-based McLaren Health Care adopted a ChatGPT-style tool to make it easier to search medical literature.
It started in 2016 when Robert Flora, MD, joined McLaren.
"One of the challenges I noticed early on was the disparity in access to knowledge across our hospitals," Dr. Flora, who currently serves as McLaren's chief academic officer and vice president of academic affairs, told Becker's. "Some facilities had libraries while others didn't. I'd get calls from hospitals asking if I could help them find a particular article, and it became clear we needed a systemwide solution."
The first step was to standardize resources online, ensuring equal access across the system. Making the information easy to search became the next priority.
"The key is knowledge-sharing — everyone should be on the same page to improve patient care," Dr. Flora said.
About a year and a half ago, McLaren tested an AI tool created by Elsevier called ClinicalKey AI. Similar to ChatGPT, users type a question into the search bar, and within 30 seconds, the tool generates a summary with references. ClinicalKey AI uses only evidence-based resources, including textbooks and major peer-reviewed journals such as JAMA, to provide answers. It also suggests related topics and allows users to click directly into original sources. Like ChatGPT, the tool stores previous queries for future reference.
"The biggest issue in healthcare is variation — people practice medicine based on what they think is best, but they often don't have time to stay updated," Dr. Flora said. "AI tools like this help standardize knowledge and improve decision-making."
Staff were hesitant at first, but once they tried the tool, they embraced it. Training took only a few minutes.
"This AI feels like a personal tutor — it allows users to keep asking follow-up questions, filling in knowledge gaps in a highly efficient way," Dr. Flora said.
McLaren rolled out the tool in a limited release in October, and it is now being used by medical staff, supply chain teams, safety and quality teams, executives and pharmacy staff.
"Regulatory bodies like The Joint Commission and CMS emphasize the need for hospitals to be learning organizations," Dr. Flora said. "But my perspective is that you can't be a learning organization until you're first an effective teaching organization. That requires the right tools."
One of the first benefits McLaren has seen is that chief medical officers can quickly access the latest evidence-based guidelines before making decisions.
And this is just the beginning.
"More AI tools are emerging for everything from education to billing," Dr. Flora said. "AI is fundamentally changing how we access knowledge in healthcare."
However, he cautioned health systems against overbuying.
"Too many tools can create complexity and lead to underutilization," he said. "Eventually, like with electronic medical records, the market will consolidate, and the strongest tools will prevail."