The doctor dictates notes about the patient encounter.
Ambient intelligence (Ambient AI) is becoming increasingly prevalent across a variety of industries, and is especially important in the healthcare sector. Ambient AI leverages technology and computing to detect, respond, and generate insights based solely on people’s presence. This means that rather than users actively querying or taking action, these systems are triggered automatically and perform tasks autonomously.
The most common example in the modern technology sector is the Internet of Things (IoT), which includes everything from smart accessories worn by people to smart devices commonly found in homes. In healthcare, these devices can have a huge impact. For example, a smart watch can automatically detect when a user’s heart rate is elevated and send notifications to alert the user accordingly.
Recent advances in computing power are opening up a lot of opportunities in this space. Devices may be able to integrate more seamlessly into people’s lives beyond just sending notifications and tracking metrics. For example, say a user has a colonoscopy scheduled for Thursday and is unable to drive home after the procedure. With the help of AI and advanced edge computing, the user’s smartphone can recognize this event from the calendar and automatically book a taxi to drop off and pick up the user, or even automatically book a meal delivery after the procedure so the user doesn’t have to cook when they get home. These actions will learn over time based on the user’s preferences and will eventually be perfected to work in the background and provide a great user experience. This kind of technology can be extremely helpful for patients who don’t have a good medical infrastructure around them or who require constant monitoring and attention.
Ambient AI in clinical workflows is also advancing rapidly. One key example that has gained immense popularity in recent years is ambient dictation technology, which aims to listen in on doctor-patient conversations in the background and transcribe them into notes for the doctor to review and confirm. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), healthcare workers spend approximately 1.77 hours completing documentation tasks outside of normal work hours. Other studies have found that documentation tasks are one of the top reasons for clinician burnout and turnover. Now, ambient dictation significantly reduces these tasks, though it doesn’t completely eliminate them.
One example of this technology going mainstream is Augmedix, which uses an ambient dictation platform to automatically generate medical records. Notably, the company recently announced it would be acquired by Commure for $139 million. Another example is Nuance, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2022. Nuance is one of the most popular platforms, used by healthcare providers around the world for dictation purposes. The company is now looking to leverage AI capabilities to make this dictation process even more robust and “smarter,” further easing the burden on healthcare providers.
The possibilities for this technology are endless. From virtual assistants to data-driven insight generation capabilities, ambient AI is a broad and growing field in the world of artificial intelligence that has great potential to transform healthcare for both patients and providers.
