In the News

Writing Patient Messages With AI: Time-Saver or Time Drain?—Today’s Hospitalist

Read article—A Dartmouth study found that physicians may spend more time editing AI-drafted responses to patients than it would take to write them because of errors, irrelevant information, and a lack of key follow-up questions. The team created a training method that improved AI’s accuracy by 33% and reduced editing by 26%. “I don’t foresee a time when the portal can respond to a patient without a clinician editing it first,” said Tim Burdick, an associate professor of community and family medicine. (Similar coverage in Noah Intelligence. )

AI-Drafted Patient Portal Messages Increase Physician Editing Time—Becker’s Hospital Review

Read article—Sarah Preum, an assistant professor of computer science, and Tim Burdick, an associate professor of community and family medicine, discuss Dartmouth research finding that AI-generated patient portal messages often require substantial physician editing. “You don’t want to integrate large language models into the workflow and just shift the bottleneck so that doctors are devoting their cognitive energy to playing AI janitor and fixing mistakes,” Preum said. (Similar coverage in TechTarget.)

Years After He Quit Smoking, a Lung Cancer Scan Saved His Life—The New York Times

Read article—Steven Woloshin, a professor of health policy and clinical practice, is quoted in a story about the number of people who get screened for lung cancer being far below the number that are eligible. “If the public health goal is to reduce deaths from lung cancer through screening, it only works if you treat the people it identifies,” Woloshin said.

Filling the Gaps in Rural Maternity Care (AUDIO)—Vermont Public

Listen—Ilana Cass, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology discusses the increasing closures of labor and delivery units at rural hospitals, and measures to expand the reach of existing resources.  “We really have to take a beat and think, how can we expand the workforce of individuals who want to provide obstetrics care in rural locations so we don’t find ourselves looking at this map with more X’s than circles of open units,” Cass said. Starts around 21:55.

Emergency Departments See a Startling Rise in Marijuana-Induced Illness—AAMC News

Read article—Kathleen Clem, a professor of emergency medicine, is featured in a story about a dramatic increase in cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome caused by frequent use of more potent forms of cannabis. “This is not your parents’ weed,” Clem said. “It’s been really amped up and much stronger in potency, and you don’t necessarily know what you’re getting.”

No Gender Disparity in Deaths After Anaphylaxis—Medscape

Read article—Marcus Shaker, a professor of pediatrics and medicine, comments on new research finding no significant difference in in-hospital mortality between men and women treated for anaphylactic shock. Shaker said the findings reinforce the importance of early recognition of anaphylaxis and emphasized that epinephrine remains the first-line treatment for severe allergic reactions.