Ambient AI on the Air: Recent Podcast Highlights

Anyone listening and watching healthcare technology media over the past couple years knows AI is frequently the center of attention, and certainly the topic of conversation for podcasts. In the case of DeepScribe conversations, our leaders and AI experts talk about – and are asked about – ambient AI, specifically, and with good reason.

Ambient AI has been improving clinician wellbeing perhaps faster and more effectively than any recent physician-focused innovation, as the burden of note-taking is whisked away from the clinician’s day. At DeepScribe, we focus on customizing AI scribing models for medical specialties and refining the clinical note for every provider. Podcasters and listeners want to hear about it.

In the past few weeks, DeepScribe leadership has been featured on two prominent podcasts, sharing their personal stories and insights into a technology that is transforming care delivery. Here’s a summary. 

Outcomes Rocket: A Conversation with CEO Matthew Ko

Matt Ko, DeepScribe CEO and co-founder, appeared on the Outcomes Rocket podcast with host Saul Marquez to discuss his experience as a founder, and get into the real possibilities for ambient AI in healthcare.

Matt talks about what sparked his journey into healthcare entrepreneurship – serving as a care coordinator for his mother during her battle with breast cancer. The effort and frustrations acted as inspiration, highlighting the inefficiencies in healthcare  documentation.

While DeepScribe's core function is to create a clinical note from recorded patient-physician conversations, using AI to extract clinically relevant information, Matt emphasized the value of DeepScribe beyond documentation: harnessing the data generated during patient interactions to improve patient care. 

‍“We would listen to patient conversations filled with so much life and filled with so much color. Then we would read these notes that these physicians are writing. All that detail, all that color, all that patient narrative was lost.”

Matthew Ko
DeepScribe CEO
On the “Outcomes Rocket” podcast

Matt went on to discuss a valuable way to tap into and use that data – DeepScribe's ability to surface HCC codes for clinicians, crucial information for value-based care participants. By identifying chronic conditions during patient visits, DeepScribe helps physicians ensure comprehensive care and appropriate reimbursement.

‍Listen to the entire episode here.

Mastering Medicare: Insights from Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Dean Dalili

Dean Dalili, MD, DeepScribe Chief Medical Officer, joined the Mastering Medicare team of Dr. Amy Schiffman and Dr. Alex Mohseni, to delve into the intersection of AI technology and healthcare documentation. For the hosts, Dr. Dalili’s diverse background - practicing hospitalist, head of operations for Dispatch Health, President of Hospital Medicine for Envision Healthcare – provides a unique perspective on the challenges that today’s clinicians face.

During the podcast, Dr. Dalili explains how ambient AI technology works, listening to patient-provider interactions and generating structured notes, in the service of freeing up clinicians to focus more on patient care than paperwork.

As with Matt Ko’s appearance on Outcomes Rocket, Dr. Dalili dove deeper into ambient AI technology, discussing the potential for AI to assist in clinical decision-making. He emphasized that AI enhances the patient interaction and that the clinician’s role must be maintained. AI has the potential to assist in diagnostics but the ultimate decision-making authority always remains with the healthcare provider.

“How do we bring information from outside the visit, outside the room, outside of the sacred space, to the moment of where care is going to be delivered? That’s what we call ambient intelligence."

Dean Dalili, MD, MHCM
DeepScribe Chief Medical Officer
On the “Mastering Medicare” podcast

‍Listen to the entire episode here.

Addressing Clinician Burnout

Both podcast appearances touch on the critical issue of provider burnout, consistently seen as a major problem in U.S. healthcare – and one that ambient AI can help to significantly reduce. Both DeepScribe leaders discuss reduced documentation time as a contributor to improved job satisfaction and lower burnout rates for physicians. Dr. Dalili also notes that, while the healthcare system is grappling with significant challenges, the integration of AI technologies like DeepScribe represents a promising step toward improving efficiency and patient care.

The Future of AI in Healthcare

What’s perhaps most notable and exciting in both podcasts are conversations about practical applications of ambient AI beyond documentation. Matt Ko talks about using AI-generated data to identify clinical trial participants and assist with clinical coding and billing. Dr. Dalili delves into ambient intelligence, the delivery of relevant information in real time, assisting the clinician right in the moment of care. 

These podcast conversations from October 2024 highlight the ongoing, rapid evolution of AI in healthcare and the potential to address today’s pressing issues for clinicians. As the technology continues to advance, the healthcare IT podcast universe is a great place for clinicians to stay informed and consider real ways in which ambient AI can continue removing administrative work and improve patient care.

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