b'During a recent appointment at FamilyTreeHealth Care in Warner, Beverly Heaton granted permission for Kelly Thorson, APRN to use ambient listening technology to record their visit.Heaton, 82, soon discovered the benefits of freeing up Thorson to focus on her, while an AI notetaking program Our Impact documented the interaction. In addition to that enhanced face-to-face communication, Heaton says the technology AMBIENT made her feel more relaxed because she knew everything was being summarized, allowing Thorson to review it later with more detailed information about their conversation.VOICE I noticed she could spend a lot more time talking with me, says Heaton, 82. The technology was totally unobtrusive. I think its a great thing for the [provider] and the patient.TECHNOLOGY The experience for patients like Heaton is among the reasons CHHS has begun to implement ambient listening technology system-wide. While the health system has been considering the use of AI transcription for a few years, Thorson, in her part-time role as lead ambulatory informatics provider, was part of a committee that researched solutions to combat provider burnout by boosting administrative efficiency. Clerical tasks, such as managing desktops, signing off on labs, and processing visit notes, were becoming increasingly burdensome, leading to some providers reducing their clinical hours to catch up on those functions. While some departments tried human scribes in select outpatient settings, patients sometimes expressed discomfort with having another person in the exam room during visits. Earlier this year, CHHS settled on an ambient listening technology from Oracle, and Thorson was the first provider to test it out. The now active phone application is password-protected and encrypted, ensuring that only authorized healthcare providers can access recordings. These measures offer multiple layers of protection, from the initial patient consent process, through secure transmission and storage, to automatic deletion of recordings. The recordings also integrate directly with CHHSs electronic medical record system, offering seamless provider access to detailed notes.I find my notes are much more accurate and succinct, Thorson says, and it gives me extra time to do other things,like follow up on labs or answer a question a nurse had from a patient who called. It makes a big difference.Nearly 190 medical professionals are using the Oracle technology across CHHS. The rollout began with primaryKelly Thorson, APRN care providers, and the program has since been adopted by more than 20 specialties, led by urology, cardiology, otolaryngology, and pediatrics. Meanwhile, ambient AI is currently being piloted by hospitalists and emergency medicine providers. So far, results indicate a 5% decrease in after-hours charting across all CHHS providers using the technology. One provider extolled, Its like Christmas in July! I am getting my notes done quickly, and I am leaving the office on time.In a survey of 85 patients, 70 % strongly agreed and a further 19 % agreed that their provider made better eye contact during a recent visit as a result of the ability to be hands-free and computer-free due to ambient listening. Thorson articulates the mutually beneficial impact of trading screen time for face time. Patients want to be heard, she says, and providers dont want to have their face buried in a screen. They want to have the human connection, which is why we went into health care in the first place.50 CONCORD HOSPITAL HEALTH SYSTEM |One System'