Madison Reporter

UW Health is set to expand its use of artificial intelligence technology, aiming to quadruple the number of care providers using an ambient listening tool by mid-2025. This initiative is designed to enhance patient interactions by allowing healthcare providers more time to focus on their patients rather than administrative tasks.

The AI tool records, transcribes, and analyzes conversations between healthcare providers and patients during appointments. It then generates a draft note for the provider's review, which becomes part of the patient's visit documentation. Dr. Joel Gordon, UW Health's chief medical information officer, highlighted that this technology reduces administrative burdens and improves work-life balance for providers. "This tool allows our care team members to look away from their computer screen and not split focus between their notes and their patient," said Gordon. He added that it decreases clerical burdens significantly, leading to reduced burnout among providers.

Since June 2024, when UW Health initiated a pilot program with 20 self-selected clinic-based providers in Wisconsin, the technology has expanded to approximately 100 users across more than 20 specialties including family medicine, pediatrics, and dermatology. Dr. James Bigham, a family medicine physician at UW Health, described the AI tool as life-changing: "If I talk to a patient’s parent about their child’s most recent basketball game, that would not go in the notes," he explained. The tool enables him to connect more with his patients without having to take real-time notes.

Patients are informed when ambient listening will be used during appointments and have the option to opt out. Providers remain responsible for reviewing and adjusting all appointment notes generated by the tool before they are finalized in a patient's chart.

By mid-2025, UW Health plans to extend this technology's reach further by adding 300 additional clinic users across Wisconsin and northern Illinois.