HIMSS19 Roundup—New AI tools to address physician burnout; Sharing an Uber in a crowded town | Fi…

Providence St. Joseph Health, the Renton, Washington-based health system operating across seven states, is leveraging artificial intelligence to alleviate physician burnout by reducing the time doctors spend documenting in the EHR.

Speaking at the 2019 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Annual Conference and Exhibition on Monday, Aaron Martin, the health system’s chief digital officer, said the health system is piloting an AI-powered virtual physician assistant platform called Saykara. Physicians who use the tool spend less time charting at the end of the day from home and report having more time to see more patients.

The health system also developed a consumer-facing, AI-powered chatbot, called Grace, designed to help navigate patients to the right site of care and improve efficiency when addressing low-acuity health issues. When clicked, the chatbot has 90% accuracy at routing patients to the right venue of care, Martin, a former Amazon executive, said.