AI joins Austin exam rooms
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Artificial intelligence is quietly becoming another participant in some Austin exam rooms.
Why it matters: Doctors are increasingly turning to AI to document patient visits, which gives clinicians more time to focus on their patients instead of paperwork, according to Austin Regional Clinic officials.
Driving the news: ARC has deployed Suki, an ambient AI listening platform that monitors appointments and drafts clinical notes, across its 40 Central Texas locations.
How it works: Rather than typing notes during or after an appointment, clinicians let Suki listen to the conversation and draft a clinical note for review.
- Recordings are deleted after the visit summary is created, and patient data isn't used to train AI models, according to ARC chief medical officer Manish Naik.
- "The clinician can now focus 100% on the patient," Naik tells Axios. "I can give them eye contact and really listen to their story and not have to worry about organizing all the details."
The big picture: Health systems across the U.S. are increasingly adopting AI technology like Suki.
- Ascension Seton says it uses ambient documentation tools, along with other AI-enabled tools, to "assist in earlier disease detection."
- St. David's has also used artificial intelligence within its health care system, including through 3D mammography to increase the accuracy of images.
The rub: Naik says some patients have asked whether their medical information could end up "on the public web" or be used to train AI systems.
- He says the clinic uses the technology within a secure environment designed to protect patient information.
- Plus, patients are informed that AI will record the conversation and can decline its use.
- Naik says clinicians review every AI-generated note before it becomes part of a patient's chart because "it's not perfect." He says the technology has improved significantly, but it still requires human oversight and occasional edits.
By the numbers: 97% of ARC clinicians are using Suki, and ARC doctors spent 18.5% less time on notes per appointment, according to Suki officials.
- Naik says the technology reduces the mental burden of documentation at the end of a busy clinic day and sometimes captures details physicians might otherwise forget to include in a patient's chart.
Zoom in: Naik says ARC physicians also use AI-powered tools to summarize test results and search medical literature to help answer clinical questions.
- "When we use any of these AI technologies, we want to be sure we're protecting the security and privacy of protected health information," Naik says.
What's next: Naik expects AI will eventually go further, helping doctors draft orders, recommend billing codes and even suggest diagnoses or treatments.
- "With clinical decision making, we have to be a lot more cautious," Naik says.
- "But I do think it's part of our future, and I think it has the potential to help us improve diagnosis and treatment, particularly for things that are more rare or uncommon."
📬 Tell us: What's your experience as a patient been like when it comes to AI?
- Write us at [email protected].