Special Topic Burnout: An AI-Powered Strategy for Managing Patient Messaging Load and Reducing Burnout.

IF 2.1 2区医学 Q4 MEDICAL INFORMATICS

Applied Clinical Informatics Pub Date : 2025-04-08 DOI:10.1055/a-2576-0579

Stephon N Proctor, Greg Lawton, Shikha Sinha

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the impact of using a large language model (LLM) for generating draft responses to patient messages in the electronic health record (EHR) system on clinicians and support staff workload and efficiency.

Methods: We partnered with Epic Systems to implement OpenAI's ChatGPT 4.0 for responding to patient messages. A pilot study was conducted from August 2023 to July 2024 across 13 ambulatory specialties involving 323 participants, including clinicians and support staff. Data on draft utilization rates and message response times were collected and analyzed using statistical methods.

Results: The overall mean generated draft utilization rate was 38%, with significant differences by role and specialty. Clinicians had a higher utilization rate (43%) than scheduling staff (33%). Draft message usage significantly reduced all users' message response time (13 seconds on average). Support staff experienced a more substantial and statistically significant time saving (23 seconds) compared to negligible time savings seen by clinicians (3 seconds). Variability in utilization rates and time savings was observed across different specialties.

Conclusion: Implementing LLMs for drafting patient message replies can reduce response times and alleviate message burden. However, the effectiveness of AI-generated draft responses varies by clinical role and specialty, indicating the need for tailored implementations. Further development and personalization of AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools are recommended to maximize their utility and ensure safe and effective use in diverse clinical contexts.

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来源期刊

Applied Clinical Informatics MEDICAL INFORMATICS-

CiteScore

4.60

自引率

24.10%

发文量

132

期刊介绍： ACI is the third Schattauer journal dealing with biomedical and health informatics. It perfectly complements our other journals Öffnet internen Link im aktuellen FensterMethods of Information in Medicine and the Öffnet internen Link im aktuellen FensterYearbook of Medical Informatics. The Yearbook of Medical Informatics being the “Milestone” or state-of-the-art journal and Methods of Information in Medicine being the “Science and Research” journal of IMIA, ACI intends to be the “Practical” journal of IMIA.