Artificial Intelligence helps Munson health care provider focus more on patients, less on screens

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas — For Mikaela Altis, a physician assistant in Munson Army Health Center’s Department of Primary Care, adopting ambient listening technology has meant more eye contact with patients, more time for follow-up questions and fewer hours spent completing clinical notes after the workday ends.

Ambient Listening is a safe and secure artificial intelligence-enabled documentation tool that captures the conversation between a patient and provider during a medical appointment and uses the medically relevant information to generate a draft clinical note.

“It really lets us focus more on the patient during the visit,” Altis said. “A lot of times, you go into the room, and the provider is staring at the screen because they’re taking notes and clicking on things. With the ambient listening tool taking notes for us, it lets me sit, face the patient and make eye contact.”

Use of technology is voluntary for patients. Before activating it, the provider explains the tool and asks the patient for permission. If the patient declines, the recording is not started, and the appointment proceeds normally.

“It is definitely the patient’s choice,” Altis said. “If they say yes, we start the recording. If they say no, we don’t, and we complete the visit as usual.”