Background: Healthcare provider burnout is a critical issue with significant implications for individual well-being, patient care, and healthcare system efficiency. Addressing burnout is essential for improving both provider well-being and the quality of patient care. Ambient artificial intelligence (AI) offers a novel approach to mitigating burnout by reducing the documentation burden through advanced speech recognition and natural language processing technologies that summarize the patient encounter into a clinical note to be reviewed by clinicians.
Objective: To assess provider burnout and professional fulfillment associated with ambient AI technology during a pilot study, assessed using the Stanford Professional Fulfillment Index (PFI).
Methods: A pre-post observational study was conducted at University of Iowa Health Care with 38 volunteer physicians and advanced practice providers. Participants used a commercial ambient AI tool over a 5-week trial in ambulatory environments. The AI tool transcribed patient-clinician conversations and generated preliminary clinical notes for review and entry into the electronic medical record. Burnout and professional fulfillment were assessed using the Stanford PFI at baseline and postintervention.
Results: Pre- and posttest surveys were completed by 35/38 participants (92% survey completion rate). Results showed a significant reduction in burnout scores, with the median burnout score improving from 4.16 to 3.16 (p = 0.005), with validated Stanford PFI cut-off for overall burnout of 3.33. Burnout rates decreased from 69 to 43%. There was a notable improvement in interpersonal disengagement scores (3.6 vs. 2.5, p < 0.001), although work exhaustion scores did not change significantly. Professional fulfillment showed a modest, nonsignificant upward trend (6.1 vs. 6.5, p = 0.10).
Conclusion: Ambient AI significantly reduces healthcare provider burnout and may enhance professional fulfillment. By alleviating documentation burdens, ambient AI can improve operational efficiency and provider well-being. These findings suggest that broader implementation of ambient AI could be a strategic intervention to combat burnout in healthcare settings.
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