It is well-established that generative AI (GenAI) is reforming patient intake forms, capturing critical information, automating tasks, and making patient onboarding easier. Nonetheless, healthcare decision-makers are more reluctant to implement GenAI because if something goes wrong, who’s ultimately responsible?
According to a 2024 Deloitte survey, the healthcare industry has the second-to-least confidence in its AI expertise. These risk-averse professionals feel unprepared to govern AI aligned with strict healthcare regulations such as the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and worry that unstructured or missing data hinders their GenAI efforts.
Assembling a patient’s medical history, symptoms, and treatment plans takes a lot of care—and errors in intake forms or missing data can jeopardize patient outcomes. This issue predates automation: 2021 research on the National Library of Medicine found that missing data, partially filled-out surveys, or incomplete medical records can compromise patient care.
On the upside, most Americans are ready for GenAI to improve their healthcare experience. A recent survey found that 70% of respondents were comfortable with AI noting information about their health during consultations. Moreover, a study of patients with a median age of 51 years found that the electronic format was a feasible and acceptable method of collecting patient information and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
GenAI-powered intake forms offer healthcare many benefits, including fixing data discrepancies, and the public is ready. Let’s take a closer look at some applicable use cases that are simple to implement, easing the industry’s administrative burden, and its nerves.
The Benefits of Healthcare Generative AI Intake Forms
The public has become accustomed to digital-first processes in their daily lives, whether shopping online or communicating with banks, and they expect this same service in healthcare. In 2021, Accenture found that 78% of patients switched healthcare providers due to poor navigation factors, such as “inadequate digital solutions” and “difficulties in doing business,” as the reason for leaving.
Leading a communications software company specializing in healthcare, I’ve observed firsthand how technology is reforming patient interactions. Traditional patient intake forms (think clipboards and paper forms) most commonly suffer from usability and data completeness issues, which can cause difficulties in integrating patient information with electronic health records (EHRs) and other digital systems in the hospital. The process ends up being extremely manual and time-consuming, which isn’t ideal when doctors have patients waiting for them.
GenAI, particularly models like GPT-4, excels at understanding context and nuances in human language. This allows for a more accurate interpretation of patient responses, even when forms are ambiguous or incomplete. Doctors can use this technology to prompt data completion suggestions for approval, summarize and extract the most relevant points in completed forms, and ensure that providers have that information available before they meet with patients.
The technology is beneficial for error reduction, as it can identify inconsistencies in patient-provided data and tailor patient questions based on previous responses, medical history, and other relevant factors. This ensures the intake process is efficient and focuses on the most pertinent information.
With a comprehensive patient information database, GenAI can also help doctors sift through millions of anonymized patient medical data and propose potential medical conditions based on individual patient characteristics. Its swift research capabilities make it a valuable decision-support tool for diagnosis and help streamline workflows for healthcare professionals. A 2024 study found over half of physicians believe GenAI will free up at least 20% of their time to give back to patients.
How to Implement Generative AI Safely in Healthcare
It’s understandable that the healthcare industry is wary of trusting tools that could alter a patient’s care and put their personally identifiable information (PII) at risk. We don’t want a situation like in 2022 when 13 of 50 telehealth websites shared patient intake form information with third parties. Robust, HIPAA-compliant data practices are paramount. Some tools can empower doctors, not overwhelm them.
Some best practices to consider:
- AI implementation should start slowly and gradually since this technology is always evolving. You could trial its usage with a specific department or clinic, measure efficiency and patient satisfaction, and scale from there.
- The bot itself can’t give medical advice. The ultimate decision to diagnose and treat must always remain with the clinician. Implement human-in-the-loop data validation, review, and approval at every stage.
- Train your GenAI on smaller, specific, and anonymized healthcare datasets (not the entirety of the open internet). Anonymize all chat data and don’t share it with third-party tracking services.
- Predefine questions based on answers to assess the statistical likelihood of related conditions based on gender, age, medical history, and symptoms. You can work with specialized healthcare chatbots and patient intake form providers to help here.
- Last, and most importantly, ensure your chatbot provider is HIPAA-compliant. They should encrypt all collected data in rest and transit, use strict access controls, and regularly audit systems to ensure regulatory compliance as datasets, users, and processes develop.
GenAI’s ability to understand natural language, generate personalized questions, and improve data quality make it a superior alternative to traditional patient intake forms. Leveraging these capabilities enables healthcare organizations to streamline their administrative processes, enhance patient experiences, and improve the overall quality of care. However, it is essential to approach this technology with caution and ensure that it is implemented in a way that protects patient privacy and security. By addressing HIPAA compliance concerns and responsibly leveraging AI’s power, healthcare organizations can integrate GenAI into their workflows comfortably, safely, and successfully.
Nate MacLeitch
Nate MacLeitch, a seasoned business professional boasting over two decades of diverse industry experience, including telecom, media, software, and technology, was drawn into the realm of digital communication solutions in the early 2010s.
