Almost 1 in 10 Mass General Brigham attending physicians are experimenting with generative AI that listens to patient visits and uploads notes to EHRs, The Wall Street Journal reported May 8.
Amy Wheeler, MD, a primary care physician in Revere, Mass., told the newspaper the artificial intelligence is "incredibly accurate" in its note-taking, and that patients are caught off guard when she doesn't sit down to type on a computer during appointments.
"Now we're going back to the point where doctors can give actual medical care and not be an IT specialist and a writer," she told the Journal. "You want to give that person who's been waiting to see you your undivided attention."
The Somerville, Mass.-based health system has been one of the earliest, and most aggressive, adopters of generative AI, while also carefully researching its efficacy and safety. Chief Medical Information Officer Rebecca Mishuris, MD, told the news outlet the organization is studying the ambient listening technology's effects on patient experience and physician retention.
"The feedback is impressive," she told the Journal. "I have quotes from people saying, 'I'm no longer leaving medicine.'"