Amid ongoing staffing challenges within the healthcare industry, UW Health is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the efficiency of nurses in responding to patient messages. More than 75 nurses at UW Health are currently piloting a generative AI tool that drafts responses to patient messages in MyChart, Epic Systems’ electronic health record system. This initiative is part of a collaborative project launched by Epic and Microsoft in the spring of 2023.

Amanda Weber, an RN clinical supervisor at UW Health, described the process nurses follow: they begin by reading the patient’s message and reviewing their chart, then evaluate the AI-generated response. “It kind of sets up that first draft, and then I can go in and make any type of edits,” said Weber, who works in rheumatology. “So I’m able to move quicker through the inbox, and work through all of those messages just because that draft is generated.”

This efficiency boost is welcomed by nurses like Weber, who spend a significant portion of their day responding to patient inquiries ranging from upcoming appointments to medication queries and new symptoms. The healthcare sector continues to face substantial staffing shortages, exacerbated by increased turnover during the COVID-19 pandemic and rising retirement rates. Industry leaders estimate thousands of unfilled hospital positions across the state.

Rudy Jackson, chief nurse executive at UW Health, emphasized the potential of AI and other technologies in reducing the administrative burden on nurses and other staff. “As we think about the total number of nurses we have in the country, and we think about the increasing demands, the math just doesn’t add up with that,” Jackson said. “In order for us to better support our nurses, and ultimately better support our patients, we have got to leverage technology.”

Jackson suggested that AI could extend beyond patient messaging to help balance workloads among staff or generate end-of-shift reports to enhance care handovers. He pointed out that the healthcare industry has a long history of adopting new technologies, citing the use of dictation systems by doctors for nearly 30 years. “Artificial intelligence is not a completely brand new novel concept around what we do. It’s just the latest iteration of work,” he said.

The development of AI tools in healthcare has not been without controversy. In the fall of 2023, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to “advance and govern the development and use of AI” and called on health systems nationwide to commit to guidelines around transparency and risk reduction.

A spokesperson for UW Health noted that AI-assisted messages in their system are not labeled as such because they are reviewed, edited, and sent by nursing staff. Weber highlighted that in her department, only experienced nurses have access to the AI tool to ensure proper evaluation of AI-generated responses. She mentioned instances where she discards AI drafts entirely. “We just wouldn’t want to sway any clinical decision making,” she said. “We want them to have a really good foundation first before they can start utilizing this.”

Weber appreciates the opportunity to test AI technology in real-world settings. Staff participating in the pilot can provide feedback to developers, indicating which responses are effective and what requires improvement. As the use of AI tools expands, the feedback from these pilots will be crucial in refining and enhancing the technology to better support healthcare professionals and their patients.