Assuta, Microsoft develop AI medical assistant to reduce doctors' documentation tasks

Assuta Medical Centers and Microsoft are collaborating to create an artificial intelligence system aimed at reducing the significant documentation burden on doctors. This AI personal assistant will gather relevant medical data, condense test results and past documents, record patient encounters, and automatically generate visit summaries. The technology is not intended to replace physicians but to alleviate their administrative workload, allowing more time for patient examinations, conversations, and critical medical decision-making.

Currently, doctors often navigate multiple screens and systems to access patient information. The new AI agent will read the medical record and present crucial details before a patient meeting. Doctors can review summaries of previous diagnoses, current medications, recent tests, prior treatments, and changes in a patient's condition, reducing the time spent searching for information and the risk of overlooking vital details.

During patient visits, the AI system will listen to conversations, with necessary approvals and privacy compliance, to create an organized transcript. It will then process this information to draft a comprehensive medical document, including patient complaints, history, examination findings, doctor's assessment, and treatment recommendations. Doctors must review, correct, and approve these documents before they are added to the official medical record. Assuta emphasizes that the system serves as a decision support tool, with ultimate responsibility for diagnosis and treatment remaining with the physician.

Beyond the visit, the AI is planned to identify when patients need follow-up appointments or tests, assist in scheduling based on medical necessity and system availability, and potentially introduce further care continuum functions under medical oversight and strict information security. The project targets saving hundreds of doctor work hours monthly, potentially enabling shorter visits without compromising the quality of doctor-patient interaction.