Sentara turns to AI tool in an effort to reduce doctor burnout

Some hospitals in Hampton Roads are turning to artificial intelligence, or AI, to prevent doctors from burning out.

"It's not an uncommon thing to hear that providers are being burned out," said Stephen Payne, regional director for business operations for Sentara Medical Group. "We're talking about primary care providers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants. They all have so much on their plates. And [the issue] has grown tremendously over the last ten years."

Within a decade, the U.S. is expected to be short as many as 124,000 physicians, according to research by the Association of American Medical Colleges.

The problem is only expected to grow

It's due to COVID burnout, retirements and pay disparities depleting the number of medical professionals while aging populations drive up demand.

Because of the strain, some, like those at Sentara, have been looking for ways to be more efficient.

One area they've focused on is the writing of clinical notes.

"It's challenging to use someone with a clinical certification to do this kind of task when they could be doing clinical care," said Dr. Steven Pearman, family physician, vice president and chief medical officer for primary care at Sentara.

Since April Sentara's been using an AI tool, DAX Copilot, that uses an ambient listening technology to, in real time, take a note in seconds. Sentara said the tool is secure and fits the medical field's requirements for privacy.

"You used to have come back out of the exam room, sit down with the note and dictate the history, which is faster than typing but still takes you a few minutes to dictate the history," said Dr. David Wallace, a family physician at St. Luke's in Carrollton. "Now by the time you walk from the exam room back to my office which is probably 30 feet, 20 feet, the note will be written."

Doctors told News 3 they've noticed some positive changes since they started using the tool.

"Anything we can do to reduce the administrative burden on providers and staff improves access and capacity," said Dr. Pearman. "And we're seeing that patients really perceive this as a much better interaction. And that's what they want. They want a human connection with their provider. This takes the technology out of the way and into the background and allows them to really focus on that human one-to-one contact."

"And I think it's ironic that through AI we're bringing back some of the human component to the visit where the provider can actually just put the phone down, look at you and spend the personal time interacting with you," said Dr. Wallace.

Others said it's also making a difference in work-life balance.

"We're finding they're leaving work with all their charts closed and their in-basket taken care of. They're able to go home and spend time with their families, which they haven't been able to do in years," said Payne.

Sentara SAYS the tool helps them cut down on roughly several hours of a doctor's clinical work a day. And the AI work product, said Dr. Wallace, has about 95 percent accuracy and doesn't need too much editing.

AI isn't the only thing they're using to address shortages and burnout. They've also been working on a team care model to better allocate resources and work to keep new medical professionals in the area.