As healthcare becomes increasingly driven by digital innovation, the heart of patient care still lies in clear, empathetic communication. Now, with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a new chapter is unfolding—one where AI isn’t just improving operational efficiency but is actively reshaping doctor-patient communication. New research and groundbreaking pilot programs are revealing how AI can optimize the way clinicians engage, making communication more efficient and meaningful.
One such initiative, conducted by the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, has shed light on how AI can assist physicians in drafting responses to patient messages. This study offers a glimpse into the potential of AI in healthcare, highlighting both the benefits and challenges of this growing healthcare technology.
A promising application of AI’s role in healthcare communication was piloted at UC San Diego Health, in partnership with Epic Systems, a leading electronic health record (EHR) platform. Generative AI was introduced to help physicians draft responses to patient messages within the EHR system, easing the burden of responding to high volumes of inquiries.
Instead of the time-consuming task of starting from scratch, physicians can now edit and refine thoughtful AI-generated drafts, enabling them to focus more on delivering personalized, empathetic care. This shift illustrates how AI can integrate into healthcare workflows to support, rather than replace, human decision-making.
The study conducted by UCSD is significant for being the first randomized prospective evaluation of AI-drafted messaging in doctor-patient communication. The design of the study focused on assessing the impact of AI-generated drafts on message quality, physician workload, and patient engagement.
Key findings from the study revealed several notable outcomes:
“Our physicians receive about 200 messages a week,” said study lead author Ming Tai-Seale, PhD, MPH, professor of family medicine at UCSD Medicine. “AI could help break ‘writer’s block’ by providing physicians an empathy-infused draft upon which to craft thoughtful responses to patients.”
The use of AI in healthcare in drafting patient messages brings a host of benefits to doctor-patient communication:
While artificial intelligence in healthcare has the potential to significantly enhance doctor-patient communication, the study also highlighted some challenges:
The integration of AI into healthcare communication is just beginning. In the future, AI could revolutionize how physicians interact with patients, allowing them to focus more on complex care and less on administrative tasks.
However, further research is necessary to evaluate the long-term impact of AI on both patient satisfaction and healthcare outcomes. For example, in UCSD’s study, it was found that further analysis was needed to gauge how beneficial patients deemed the increased empathy and reply length to be.
AI in healthcare has the potential to enhance physician-patient communication by generating empathetic, thoughtful drafts, improving response quality, and alleviating some of the cognitive burdens on physicians. With ongoing research and adaptation, AI could become an essential tool in modern healthcare, helping to ensure that physicians can provide the highest quality of care while managing their workload effectively.
The study conducted at UC San Diego Health is an exciting first step in understanding how AI in healthcare can be used to enhance doctor-patient communication. While AI does not reduce response times for physicians, it offers substantial benefits in terms of message quality and reducing cognitive strain.
As healthcare innovation continues to evolve, AI-assisted communication holds great potential to improve patient care and patient engagement. Going forward, continued research and thoughtful implementation will be key to ensuring that AI meets the needs of both clinicians and patients alike, as the future of patient care increasingly revolves around how effectively they connect.