How ambient clinical intelligence can change healthcare for good

Last week I met my new doctor. 

I’m all for a virtual appointment: I’m comfy. You’re comfy. Your cats might show up (they did). 

But I couldn’t help but feel for her; she had to type out everything I said. 

We laughed about it—she’d try to spell by sounding things out. We'd complete a section, then accidentally pop up a new window.

By the end of the hour, we were halfway through the intake form. Offhandedly, she told me she’d rewrite it all for her EHR. It was 5 PM. 

This isn’t just a Telehealth thing. A recent study found that for every eight hours physicians spend with patients, they spend another five on the EHR. 

Luckily, virtual appointments aren’t the only advancement in healthcare. Ambient clinical intelligence (ACI) is an answer to what I’ll call “the documentation burden.”

ACI uses AI to write clinical notes during the patient visit—so you don’t have to spell “Fasciculations,” on the fly, and can log off when I do. 

A quick summary of Ambient Clinical intelligence 

• Ambient clinical intelligence (ACI) uses AI and voice recognition to automate clinical documentation, reducing administrative burden and clinician burnout.
• ACI captures patient encounters in real time, generating detailed clinical notes.
• Studies show that physician workloads are higher than ever. ACI can cut down administrative tasks and give you your time back. 

ACI: Relief from administrative burdens

Ambient Intelligence combines  sensors and generative AI to automate different administrative tasks and clinical workflows. (Think patient monitoring or data collection). 

ACI specifically targets the "documentation burden” I’m talking about. It listens to the doctor-patient conversation and writes SOAP notes that you can copy/paste into your EHR. 

It’s like having a virtual assistant that knows exactly what goes in the medical record. 

Draft clinical notes with context

Ambient AI and voice recognition technologies aren’t like human transcription. They interpret the patient conversation to pull the details that matter. 

ACI also bakes context into the note structure. It automatically categorizes things like patient symptoms and treatment plans. 

Less cognitive load 

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Clinical note generation reminds me of my “To Do” list. Once my tasks are on paper, I can focus on what’s next

ACI means you don’t have to remember the whole conversation. You can keep moving forward to enact care plans and make decisions. 

A better experience for the physician and patient 

ACI technology (also called "Ambient Clinical Documentation,") fits easily into a clinical setting. That's because you don't have to think about it once you start recording.

The value of the doctor-patient conversation

Let's pretend last week's appointment was a physical exam. My care provider would have to juggle:

• Listening to my assumptions and concerns
• Making their own observations 
• Ensuring I have a pleasant patient experience

… all while drafting notes. 

At their core, patient encounters are about connection and trust. Ambient clinical documentation handles the administrative tasks that get in the way of patient care.

Administrative tasks can be done in less time

This goes beyond the patient experience. A recent simulation study found that primary care physicians are expected to work an impossible 27 hours per day. 

On top of that, there's a very real exodus of physicians leaving medical practice—the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts a large physician shortage in the next decade. 

ACI shows a real effort to give clinicians their time (and lives) back.

ACI is just the beginning

Clinical notes are just the first step; imagine how virtual assistant technology can evolve.

Like Teleheath, these advancements open up a whole new world for physicians and patients. One that prioritizes real relationships over a computer screen, and maybe even lets our care providers go home at 5 PM. I for one can’t wait to see it. 

Freed is an AI scribe that uses ACI to draft clinical notes. Try it for free today.