How Artificial Intelligence May Reduce Physician Burnout

Healthday News — Artificial intelligence (AI), in which computers can be trained to recognize patterns in large quantities of data, may be able to reduce physicians’ burdens, saving them time and energy, according to a report published in Medical Economics.

The report notes that more data can be generated than physicians can analyze and that AI can make use of techniques to help with interpretation of the data. For example, AI can identify matching images for X-rays for radiologists, saving time.

AI can be used to improve searching tasks and the documentation process, both of which may be reasons for physician burnout. 

It is used in one hospital for deciding whether patients with liver cancer need chemotherapy or surgery. In addition, AI-based scheduling programs are being used, with benefit in places with a large number of physicians and ancillary staff.

“Studies have shown that AI can help physicians reduce the time they have their hands on the keyboard,” said Mark Lambrecht, PhD, from SAS Health and Life Sciences Global Practice, according to the report. “They do this by capturing the data automatically, making sense of it, providing content, and making sure the data is put in the right field.”

Reference

Rosenfeld J. Can artificial intelligence help prevent physician burnout? [news release]. Medical Economics. Updated February 15, 2018. Accessed February 28, 2018.