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.