Artificial intelligence could reshape health care by reducing administrative work, helping physicians identify and manage disease, and extending care beyond traditional clinical settings—potentially allowing caregivers to focus more on patient care and human interaction, according to Cleveland Clinic executive leaders.
During a roundtable discussion moderated by Scott R. Steele, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS, at Cleveland Clinic’s A.I. Summit for Healthcare Professionals, the panelists described where they already see artificial intelligence (AI) making a difference and where they expect its influence to grow. Dr. Steele is President, Cleveland Clinic, Main Campus Submarket, and the Rupert B. Turnbull M.D. Endowed Chair in Colorectal Surgery
Reducing the Work Around Patient Care
Some of the most immediate effects the panelists described involved the work surrounding patient care.
Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD, Chief Executive Officer and President of Cleveland Clinic and the Morton L. Mandel CEO Chair, pointed to ambient AI as an example. By recording and analyzing the clinical encounter, the technology can generate documentation without requiring physicians to focus on a computer screen. He said the technology has allowed them “to step away from the keyboard and actually face a patient and speak to them.”
Miguel Regueiro, MD, Executive Vice President and Enterprise Chief of Staff, has experienced that change firsthand. He described using the technology during encounters with patients and family members who did not speak English. AI could distinguish the patient from family members, generate his notes, translate information into English, and produce an after-visit summary in the patient’s language. “Overnight, this changed the way we practice,” he said.
Dr. Regueiro said experience with ambient AI also eased some of his initial concerns about accuracy and hallucinations. For example, after briefly discussing diet and lifestyle with a patient with Crohn's disease, he said the system could expand on the information discussed and generate a summary of diet and lifestyle recommendations for the patient. Dr. Regueiro has found these AI-generated recommendations to be "100% accurate.”
The potential to reduce routine work extends beyond physicians. Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN, NE-BC, FAAN, Executive Vice President, Chief Caregiver Officer, and Chief Administrative Officer, said Cleveland Clinic caregivers see AI as a way to ease administrative burden and augment their work. She said technology already in use has allowed caregivers to “be at the top of their licensure” and “really augment the care that they deliver.”
For nonpatient-facing caregivers, Dr. Hancock pointed to repetitive work in coding, billing, human resources, and call centers that technology can help alleviate, freeing employees for other responsibilities. “They really look at AI as an opportunity for career growth and development and a way to continue to enhance their skills rather than a threat,” she said.
Reducing administrative work could become one of AI’s most visible effects, according to Rohit Chandra, PhD, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer. Asked what health-care professionals might look back on differently 5 years from now, he said, “We'll just wonder why we spend all of our time shuffling paper around.”
Supporting Disease Management and Patient Care
AI is also being applied more directly to disease management and the processes involved in delivering patient care.
Jorge A. Guzman, MD, Executive Vice President of U.S. markets, said Cleveland Clinic is beginning to use AI to identify high-acuity or potentially lethal conditions, such as sepsis, and to manage chronic diseases in ways that are more predictable, standardized, and automated.
Dr. Guzman also pointed to hospital operations as another way AI can affect patient care. Cleveland Clinic is using AI to help match patient transfer requests with available capacity and clinical teams appropriate for the patient’s acuity, while also applying it to operating room and ambulatory space utilization.
Bringing More Care to the Patient
Several panelists identified access as an area where AI could have a substantial longer-term effect.
Dr. Mihaljevic described access as a limiting factor in health care around the world, with patients sometimes waiting weeks or months for services. “Artificial intelligence can help us identify conditions even before patients seek care, steer them toward providers who can help them, or provide care and counsel without the involvement of a health-care provider in every episode,” he said.
Dr. Regueiro described a more immediate example from his own specialty. He said Cleveland Clinic works with an AI company to provide home and remote monitoring for patients with Crohn's disease, providing patients with around-the-clock access to the platform while maintaining a connection with the clinical team.
He expects more care to be brought to patients at home rather than requiring them to travel to traditional care settings. “AI is bringing Cleveland Clinic to the patient. The patient doesn't have to come to Cleveland Clinic. That's the future,” he said.
Changing Roles, Preserving Human Connection
For Dr. Mihaljevic, AI’s potential to expand access also challenges the idea that the technology will eliminate the need for health-care professionals. “The amount and type of health care that we should be providing exceeds our current provisions by orders of magnitude,” he said. “AI is going to allow us to reach all those who are in need of health care and currently have absolutely no access to it.”
Dr. Mihaljevic said health-care professionals should instead expect their work and skills to evolve as AI becomes more integrated into care. “Our roles will be different, and they should be.”
He described changing roles as part of medical progress rather than something physicians should resist. “If I were to continue to operate on my patients in the same way that I did many years ago when I finished my training, that would be a failure,” said Dr. Mihaljevic, former Chairman of the Heart & Vascular Institute at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. “So my job ought to change.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Regueiro expects AI to play an expanding role across health-care delivery, particularly in improving access and supporting cognitive tasks. Its role in physical procedures and surgery is more limited today, he said, although he noted that the technology is changing.
What he does not expect to disappear is the personal connection between patients and their health-care providers. “We can't lose the human touch,” Dr. Regueiro said. “There's still a desire to look somebody in the eye and understand what they're saying. I don't think that's ever going to go away.”
