Although some observers are concerned about the increased use of virtual health options, many assert that automation of routine administrative tasks can ease workloads and avert burnout for healthcare professionals.
To that end, one of the largest telehealth platforms in the United States is expanding its capabilities by adding the ability to automate clinical documentation during virtual exams.
Teladoc Health, which works with 50 Medicare Advantage plans and serves 9 million older adults, announced last week that it is adding three services onto its platform: Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Cognitive Services and the Nuance Dragon Ambient experience.
“Administrative burden and staff shortages are major reasons why clinicians are leaving the profession,” Vidya Raman-Tangella, MD, chief medical officer at Teladoc Health, said in a statement. “We are focused on using AI to reassert and build the doctor-patient relationship at a time when technology frequently does the opposite.”
In particular, Nuance’s DAX “ambient documentation” will log notes and collect data on the visits so that a clinician can spend more time with a patient during the telehealth appointment, Teladoc stated.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has warned that by 2025, the country could face a shortage of 90,000 physicians due at least in part to paperwork-related burnout. There is currently a nearly 2-to-1 ratio of time spent on administrative tasks versus actual patient care. Despite the potential benefits, at least one report from earlier this year indicated physicians are reluctant to rely on telehealth for older adults, due to some of those patients’ more nuanced medical needs. To that end, telehealth providers recently have been trying to tailor options to better meet seniors’ needs, such as giving 24/7 access to healthcare professionals.
