AI in Patient Communication and Experience

Healthcare Tech Entrepreneur Career Transition

Host of AI Amplified, Dr. Heather Bassett, interviewed Dr. Justin Schrager, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at Vital. They discussed his career transition from emergency medicine physician to tech entrepreneur, explaining how he co-founded Vital, a healthcare technology company focused on improving patient communication and care through AI. He described his background as a non-traditional medical student who worked as a high school chemistry teacher before pursuing medicine and shared how his research interests in health services and epidemiology led him to explore AI applications in healthcare. Dr. Schrager explained how he and co-founder Aaron Patzer developed their initial concept for operational AI in emergency departments, which later evolved into patient-facing technology during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patient Communication in Healthcare Systems

Justin and Heather discussed the need for better patient communication and information transparency in healthcare, particularly during hospital visits. Justin explained that his company, Vital, aims to address this gap by providing patients with information about wait times, procedures, and expected outcomes, similar to what customers might expect of service industries. He noted that while many AI tools focus on financial returns for healthcare systems, Vital takes a patient-centered approach, which has proven successful over 10 years of operation. The conversation touched on how improved patient experience can benefit healthcare systems, including potential reductions in readmissions.

Generative AI Solutions in Radiology Patient Communication

Justin discussed his company’s early adoption of Generative AI solutions, with ChatGPT, to help patients understand radiology reports, which was part of a pilot program before the technology’s market release. He explained how they published research measuring safety and quality of the AI-generated explanations, using a panel of board-certified physicians to evaluate the outputs. The conversation touched on the broader challenge of translating medical information into patient-friendly language, with both participants acknowledging the gap between medical professionals’ communication and patients’ understanding.

AI in Healthcare Implementation Standards

Justin discussed how Vital provides timely, context-specific information to patients during healthcare visits to improve understanding and reduce overwhelming patients with too much information at once. He highlighted a growing trend where patients are using AI tools like ChatGPT to interpret clinical data and medical conversations, which raises concerns about unregulated and potentially unsafe information consumption. Justin emphasized the need for physicians to have a voice in guiding AI implementation in healthcare settings, leading to the creation of the AI Care Standard™ initiative to address these challenges and ensure patient safety.

Agentic Systems in Healthcare Discussion

Justin and Heather discussed the role of agentic systems in healthcare, emphasizing their potential to address access gaps and democratize medical information while maintaining the essential human elements of physician-patient relationships. They highlighted the importance of balancing technological advancements with the personal touch required in medical care. The conversation also touched on personal experiences with healthcare systems and the challenges of balancing efficiency with quality care.