AI or Artificial Intelligence — it’s a hot topic across many different industries, and healthcare is no exception. With the right AI tools, you can improve documentation accuracy, enhance your clinical decision-making, and ultimately spend more time focused on your patients. In this post, we’ll explore some of the options AI opens up in your practice — plus, how you can use AI with PCC EHR.
A quick definition: AI in this article will refer to supplementary healthcare technologies such as Freed AI or Heidi AI that use LLM (Large Language Models) to accomplish various tasks.
For more information, The American Academy of Pediatrics has a video series on AI featuring PCC's Chip Hart.
The Evolving AI Landscape
One of the most promising applications of AI in healthcare is AI-powered clinical documentation, which is exciting news. It means that you can use AI with PCC EHR! AI scribing tools can help make documenting your patient visits easier and potentially save you time.
The AI market is in constant change, and there are a number of different AI scribing tools available. When selecting an AI vendor, finding one you trust is important. Look for a solution that has a proven track record of accuracy and reliability, and provides robust security and privacy safeguards. These are a great start to securely using AI, which also has a human component, which we’ll discuss shortly.
It's also crucial to understand the limitations of AI. While AI-powered clinical documentation can be a powerful tool, it's not perfect. The AI system may misinterpret certain medical terminology or fail to capture nuanced details about a patient's condition. That's why it's essential to always review the notes generated by your AI scribe before finalizing them in the patient's record.
Using AI Programs Safely
To leverage AI in your pediatric practice, you'll need to adjust your protocols and workflows. Here are some best practices to consider:
Establish clear guidelines: Work with your clinical and IT teams to develop policies and procedures for using AI in your practice. Define the specific use cases, set accuracy thresholds, and outline the review and approval process for AI-generated notes. Determine which notes or messages should be written by humans and which may be edited by humans.
Train your staff: Ensure that all providers and staff members who will be using the AI system are properly trained. This includes not only how to use the technology, but also how to critically evaluate the output and identify potential errors or discrepancies.
Implement quality assurance measures: You may choose to audit a sample of AI-generated notes to assess their accuracy and completeness. This will help you identify any recurring issues and make adjustments to your protocols as needed.
Foster a culture of collaboration: Encourage open communication and collaboration between your providers and the AI tool. Encourage your staff to provide feedback on the AI's performance: what mistakes do they notice? Could different prompts help solve the problem? You could even create an AI quality assurance team who checks in on its use as the tool and its use evolves.
Prioritize patient privacy and security: Last but certainly not least, ensure that you use AI in ways that always protect patient security and privacy. Your AI vendor should have robust data security and privacy measures in place to protect your patients' sensitive information. This may include encryption, access controls, and regular security audits.
Your practice has a role in keeping PHI separate from AI. Pediatrician Dr. Brian Birch recommends for example inputting “Zebra” instead of a name in a note prompt will create a note that accurately describes the visit and condition, but has no PHI. During the note review, the pediatrician can edit “Zebra” to the patient’s name. Check out Dr. Birch’s complete talk on AI in pediatrics right here.
The Benefits of AI-Powered Clinical Documentation
When implemented thoughtfully and with appropriate safeguards, AI-powered clinical documentation can offer a number of benefits for your healthcare practice:
- Improved efficiency: By automating the documentation process, AI can help you save time and reduce the administrative burden on pediatricians. Less paperwork and more face time with patients is a win/win.
- Increased consistency: AI-generated notes can help ensure that your clinical documentation is consistent across providers and visits, improving the quality of care and facilitating better continuity of care.
- Better patient outcomes: By freeing up your providers' time and improving the accuracy and consistency of clinical documentation, AI can ultimately contribute to better patient outcomes and improved patient satisfaction.
As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, the use of AI in clinical settings is becoming increasingly prevalent. By leveraging AI-powered clinical documentation tools, you can streamline administrative tasks, enhance clinical decision-making, and ultimately spend more time focused on your patients.
AI is a constantly changing landscape. Given this, we at PCC are excited to learn how to best support pediatricians by observing and planning for the possibility of future PCC AI projects. PCC never rushes into features until we’re confident that we can deliver a tool we’re proud of. For now, you can use an EHR like PCC EHR to collaborate with (in parallel) the AI programs that work best for you. With the combination of PCC’s Smart Text, Answer Memory, and AI powered dictation, pediatricians can easily create chart notes without breaking a sweat. We look forward to learning which tasks and services pediatricians find most helpful for use with AI.
However, it's important to approach AI with caution and to implement appropriate safeguards to ensure the safety and privacy of your patients. By establishing clear guidelines, training your staff, and fostering a culture of collaboration, you can harness the power of AI while mitigating the risks.
Remember, AI does not replace human creativity, forethought, and experience. It's a tool that can enhance and support your clinical practice, but it should always be used in conjunction with your clinical expertise and a thorough review of the AI-generated output.
By embracing AI safely and responsibly, you can unlock new opportunities to improve the quality of care, enhance the patient experience, and drive better outcomes for your practice and your community. PCC looks forward to partnering with practices that use AI in new and increasingly creative ways!
