Bob Wachter

Other than to maybe forward the results back to the doctor and say, I'd like an explanation, please, which just sludges up your inbox even more.

The companies did what seemed logical.

They put a little button at the bottom of the screen that said, send a message to your doctor.

Lo and behold, patients being normal human beings click that button all the time.

Electronic health records have led to a huge increase in what is called pajama time for physicians.

We talked about that in an episode called The Doctor Won't See You Now, number 650.

The American Medical Association, in a recent survey, found that roughly 20 percent of physicians spend eight or more hours a week outside the office wrestling with electronic health records.

But it seems that a new day may finally be dawning.

The first really widespread use of AI in healthcare now, and really the one that took over very quickly in a year or two, is what's called an AI scribe or ambient intelligence.

Every doctor at UCSF now has access to a tool where if you're coming in to see me, I put my phone down on the desk, say, is it okay if I use this to create my note, press a little button,

And it records our conversation.

At the end of a conversation, I press a button and there is your note.

And this is not just a transcript.

This is an assimilated transcript, you might say, yeah?

A transcript would be worthless because you said, well, doctor, I'm having chest pain.

And maybe 10 minutes later, you would tell me you're having shortness of breath and your right leg hurts.

Those things go together in the note.

They don't go 10 minutes apart in the note.

Maybe between them, you told me about your focaccia recipe or how much you love your grandchildren and how Tommy's soccer game went last week.

That generally does not go in the note.