UW Health Looking to AI to Help Nurses Respond to Patient Messages More Efficiently

Friday, June 14th, 2024 -- 11:00 AM

(Hope Kirwan, Wisconsin Public Radio) As the health care industry continues to struggle with staffing, UW Health is looking to artificial intelligence to help nurses respond to patient messages more efficiently.

According to Hope Kirwan with Wisconsin Public Radio, more than 75 nurses within the health system are piloting a generative AI tool that drafts a response to patient messages in MyChart, Epic Systems’ electronic health record system.

It’s part of a project launched by Epic and Microsoft last spring. Amanda Weber, an RN clinical supervisor at UW Health, said nurses like herself start by reading the patient’s message and reviewing their chart, before evaluating the 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.”

It’s a welcome efficiency, according to Weber, because nurses spend a large part of their day responding to messages and phone calls from patients. She said these questions relate to everything from an upcoming appointment to medications to new symptoms.

Health care industry leaders estimate there are thousands of unfilled hospital jobs across the state, caused by a spike in staff turnover during the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing retirements.

Rudy Jackson, chief nurse executive at UW Health, said decreasing the administrative work of nurses and other staff through AI and other technology could help.

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