By Dr. Jeanne Armstrong, Chief Medical Officer for TouchWorks EHR, Altera Digital Health
LinkedIn: Jeanne Armstrong
LinkedIn: Altera Digital Health
When clinicians are overburdened with administrative tasks, it can fuel burnout, reduce access to care and lead to poorer patient outcomes and satisfaction.
According to a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, physicians spend nearly a third of their working time on electronic health records (EHRs) and administrative tasks. Other studies have found that:
- For every eight hours that office-based physicians have scheduled with patients, they spend more than five hours in the EHR.
- Physicians spend an average of 15.6 hours per week on administrative duties, which equates to nearly two full clinical days lost to non-clinical work.
- When asked in a survey what factors challenge them the most in their medical practices, 66% of physicians said administrative tasks were very or somewhat significant.
Indeed, in my experience as a practicing physician, even the most capable providers are stretched thin by these burdens. However, the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of virtual medical assistants (VMAs) may offer physicians an escape from the administrative task hamster wheel.
VMAs are among the highest-potential recent AI developments, with the possibility to not only reduce clinicians’ burnout but also shift health IT systems from sources of frustration to true assets—enabling smoother, more impactful patient-provider interactions.
Making the EHR an intelligent, responsive tool
Today, healthcare providers often face the time-consuming task of navigating multiple EHR tabs just to gather a complete view of a patient’s medical history. This manual process can take several minutes, detracting from valuable face-to-face interaction with patients.
The integration of VMAs with EHR systems has the potential to fundamentally transform this experience. Beyond merely summarizing charts, VMAs can respond to specific clinical inquiries in real time, with questions such as, “Has this patient ever been prescribed a statin, and if so, why was it discontinued?” or “Are there any missed follow-ups related to abnormal mammogram results?”
By surfacing targeted, context-aware information, VMAs help clinicians bypass chart clutter and quickly access the insights most relevant to their clinical decision-making. Importantly, this requires no specialized technical knowledge or coding expertise on the part of the provider.
We are already witnessing the benefits of AI in tools such as ambient listening solutions. These tools generate documentation based on clinical conversations, enabling providers to review and finalize notes efficiently without excessive manual entry. The future lies in integrating VMAs with these ambient technologies. By interpreting real-time patient-provider conversations, VMAs can anticipate clinical needs and take proactive actions.
For instance, if a provider says, “I’m going to refill your lisinopril today,” the VMA could automatically prepare the prescription refill. Similarly, if a conversation turns to hemoglobin levels, the assistant could retrieve the most recent A1C result without prompting. This evolution will shift the EHR from a passive data repository to an intelligent, responsive clinical tool.
Supporting standards of care
VMAs offer remarkable adaptability, enabling a level of customization comparable to what consumers experience in industries such as e-commerce and digital banking. Practices can develop templates tailored to the most common chronic conditions in their patient populations. These templates could automatically surface key clinical metrics whenever a relevant patient record is accessed, eliminating the need for additional queries.
Moreover, healthcare organizations can embed their own standards of care within the VMA’s logic, including diagnostic criteria and ongoing management protocols. The VMA can then assist in evaluating whether a patient’s current treatment plan aligns with the organization’s defined standards.
For example, if a practice sets a target A1C threshold for patients with diabetes, the VMA can flag those who fall short or who have not received recommended follow-up care. This functionality empowers clinicians to maintain consistency with care protocols, streamlining decision-making while preserving the essential role of clinical judgment.
Ultimately, AI-powered tools like VMAs are not designed to replace the expertise of healthcare professionals but to enhance it—supporting better care delivery through intelligent, timely insights.
Helping the healers
As the demands on clinicians continue to grow, so too must the support systems designed to help them. Virtual medical assistants represent a significant step forward in reducing the administrative burdens that contribute to burnout, allowing providers to reclaim valuable time for meaningful patient interactions.
By transforming EHRs into intelligent, responsive allies and reinforcing clinical best practices, VMAs have the potential to not only improve workflows but also elevate the standard of care. In doing so, they help ensure that the focus of healthcare remains exactly where it belongs: on the patient.