Medical documentation has existed in some form for many centuries. The earliest known record dates to 2,400 B.C.E. and is found on a clay tablet from Sumer. But the idea of permanent records specific to each patient is much more recent, having its origin at the Mayo Clinic in the early 20th century.
The modern Electronic Health Record evolved over the last 60 years, fueled by population growth, complex systems of healthcare, and the fact that electronic and computer technologies made it possible for doctors to track more data points than ever before.
But misconceptions continue to abound.
Among the most harmful is the notion that modern healthcare IT should be developed for its own sake. Many companies engage in research and development that yields ever-more-sophisticated products that nonetheless are hard to deploy or use.
A second misconception — closely related to the first — is that it is necessarily difficult to derive useful insights from the oceans of data produced by the modern EHR.
On the contrary, healthcare IT should be judged by value, which is a product of ease of use and useful insight into patient populations.
The Impact of AI Medical Software on Healthcare 
There is little doubt that EHRs have had an overall positive impact on the practice of medicine. A 2012 Health Services Research article sampled physicians’ experiences in the wake of the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009.
That act established so-called Meaningful Use criteria intended to support doctors’ use of healthcare IT — generally synonymous with the use of an EHR — to improve patient care.
The key findings among physicians:
- 78% using EHRs felt they enhanced patient care
- 81% used their EHR to access a patient’s chart remotely
- 65% found the EHR had alerted them to a potential medication error
It is important to note that those findings are more than a decade old; EHRs have advanced dramatically since 2013, with software solutions that produce deeper insight and interoperability solutions that can locate patient data from any participating medical facility nationwide and put it at a physician’s fingertips on demand.
Essential Features of Modern AI Medical Software
Now consider all those medical specialties we discussed above. Setting aside the time spent on documentation, what else do they share? All can benefit from an AI medical scribe that can document encounters more easily.
An orthopedist can make observations of joints using a two-dimensional homunculus model. A dermatologist may use a similar model to note areas of concern. A dentist or hygienist can benefit by using dictation for periodontal charting. And a Behavioral Health provider can put their focus where it needs to be — on the patient conversation, not a keyboard or computer screen.
A leading solution such as the AI medical scribe from Sunoh.ai offers all types of medical providers the power and flexibility they need to reduce the time spent on documentation.
Sunoh is making a difference for physicians across the nation.
“My notes are better,” Dr. Rajiv Aggarwal of Lansdowne Travel Medicine LLC in Virginia. “I’ve increased my encounters with the patient, and I am spending more time talking to the patient than documenting in the room.”
The time Dr. Aggarwal saved has allowed him to resume playing racquetball in the evenings, improving his work-life balance to the point where he is no longer considering retirement in the near future.
Implementation and Integration 
A useful first step for any practice considering the implementation of AI medical software solutions is to conduct a time audit. All stakeholders — including medical providers (doctors, nurses, physician assistants, etc.), as well as front-office staff, billers, and even technical support staff — should calculate how much of their time is spent on documentation, fax inbox management, or other largely administrative tasks.
Next, consider whether some or all of those functions could be done more efficiently — in whole or even in part — by some form of AI-powered software. Hint: The answer to the question of whether such solutions exist somewhere in the market is almost certainly “Yes!”
Once the practice identifies one or more vendors that may be a good fit, it’s time to consider these key questions:
- Does the vendor’s solution integrate easily with the EHR your practice is using?
- Does the solution come with strong customer support and the backing of an organization with deep experience?
- Are customer support services, including for training and adoption of the software, readily available?
- Does the solution comply fully with healthcare IT regulations, most importantly with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)?
Real-World Applications 
More than 50,000 physicians trust Sunoh.ai for medical documentation. Here are a few examples of how they are making use of the AI medical scribe to improve their practices:
- Michael Tackett, Director of Operations at Brownfield Regional Medical Center in Texas: “I wanted to try the Sunoh and see if it would speed up the practice, and it was fantastic. We went from having 30+ day delay on charts being completed to our charts being completed every day. I think the best part of it — what my providers loved — is that they could hit play and then take care of their patients instead of worrying about taking notes or typing on the computer.”
- Jon Gambill, PA-C, at Oregon’s Canyonville Health and Urgent Care: “There was an “Aha!
moment yesterday when I came out of a room and it was just like, wow, now that looks like a chart. That was pretty wonderful. The laptop is completely innocuous at this point, it’s just doing its job, and it keeps me off of the computer where I can be doing the hands-on with them.”
- Amarache Uzosike, DNP, CRNP, at Goodtime Family Care in Maryland: “Sunoh.ai has been really effective in helping me as a provider to keep my work at work. It has definitely helped with the documentation because it decreases the time that you’re spending and it’s increasing your accuracy and level of detail. Because of the amount of documentation that we need to do we end up working outside of work hours.”
Looking Ahead: The Future of AI Medical Software 
Given the rapid advances in computerization and AI, no one can see the future of healthcare IT with perfect clarity. But several conclusions are likely based on existing trends.
First, the EHR, either alone or in combination with any number of AI-powered solutions will not replace physicians. There is a long history of predictions that technological advances will result in a net loss of jobs in any given industry. But each advance creates new opportunities.
Expect that to happen in healthcare. Yes, AI-powered scribes will replace some human scribes, saving practices time and money. But AI is not now — and may never be — capable of true thought, much less having the empathy and judgment that human providers have.
Second, the distinctions among AI-powered solutions will likely be erased as solutions became better integrated. Sunoh.ai, for example, is already integrated with leading EHRs like eClinicalWorks, Epic, Cerner, and Athena, plus it can also be used in a stand-alone mode with other EHRs.
More generally, solutions for functions ranging from patient scheduling to managing the fax inbox to efficient Revenue Cycle Management are likely to move closer together; the next decade or two may see the arrival of fully integrated AI solutions that cover most major areas in the day-to-day operations of a practice.
Third — and perhaps most importantly — the remarkable insights that AI can help uncover should allow physicians to focus on the art of medicine and the never-ending challenge of delivering better medical outcomes.
Conclusion
With the right software, all these results can become reality. But that reality can only be brought about if the EHR and related AI-powered tools face the stark realities that medical providers face every day.
- Fully integrated, highly sophisticated EHR solutions are necessary precisely because so many patients have complex and challenging medical histories.
- With so many patients facing multiple chronic health challenges, the need for AI tools to help with documentation is always growing. Providers need AI to do what it does best so they can focus on the art of medicine that no AI can provide.
- There will always be a place for innovative solutions such as Sunoh.ai, whose development is shaped by people who place the needs of providers and patients first. The future of healthcare demands nothing less.
Learning more about Sunoh.ai is simple and risk-free. Click here to book a demo and speak with experts who can help your practice toward a future of better health for patients and better balance in the lives of your physicians and staff.
