The AI model, integrated into electronic health records, generates a draft response to a patient's message within seconds. The draft responses appear in the clinician's inbox for review and editing before being sent to the patient. The study, which is one of the first to rigorously evaluate the clinical use of generative AI, was conducted over five weeks in 2023 on behalf of 162 primary care and gastroenterology clinicians.
Key takeaways:
- Stanford Medicine researchers have found that large language models can help draft responses to patient portal messages, reducing health care providers’ workload and alleviating burnout.
- The AI-generated drafts are reviewed and edited by a clinician before they are shared with the patient, helping to respond to clinical inquiries.
- A study of the AI-generated responses reported a reduction in everyday clerical burden and fewer feelings of burnout among clinicians.
- Stanford Medicine is planning to expand the use of this tool to additional clinicians in the coming months.