Providence is banking on AI and technology

Providence is leaning heavily into artificial intelligence and digital tools over the next five years.

Erik Wexler, president and CEO of Providence, says it’s not simply a matter of convenience for the Catholic health system based in Renton, Washington.

Providence is facing mounting cost pressures, and the prospect of significant reductions in support from Medicaid programs in the coming years.

“For us to do better, especially with what we're being called to do because of cuts, we've got to get the tension and the noise out of the way for people that are caring for our patients,” Wexler says.

• Read more: Providence CEO talks about financial recovery and getting back to the core

In an interview with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Wexler talked about Providence’s tech-focused strategy for 2030 and why it’s so essential for the system, which operates 51 hospitals and more than 1,000 clinics.

Wexler, who became CEO in January, talked about his enthusiasm for artificial intelligence, and his hopes of using technology to improve patient care and make life easier for doctors and nurses.

(See part of our conversation in this video. The story continues below.)

‘Digital renaissance’

Wexler expresses high enthusiasm for AI in healthcare, and calls it a “digital renaissance.”

“I think our enthusiasm for the proper use of artificial intelligence and other digital tools is going to change the way health care is delivered in the United States, and that will help us with what we're up against from reimbursement declines from Medicaid and maybe Medicare,” Wexler says.

Less than a year ago, Wexler attended a meeting at OpenAI in San Francisco, along with other executives from health systems and insurance companies. He says the company talked about its work and wanted insights on what healthcare leaders wanted from AI.

As Wexler walked out of OpenAI, he told a colleague that it was the most important meeting he attended in months. Not long after that meeting, Providence created its “Office of Transformation” to help set the system’s strategic direction. The office was launched this year.

Wexler says he wanted the transformation office to have focus and discipline.

“We're not going after every shiny, spinning object. We're not going to do 10 things. We're going to do three,” he says.

Wexler spent more than four months visiting different sites at Providence, having conversations with staff about where technology efforts should be focused. He says he spoke with more than 5,000 people.

Providence is focusing on removing unnecessary emails from inboxes and simplifying how staff can resolve technology issues. So far, the system says it has reduced non-clinical messages by more than 27%.

Wexler says it’s important to make serious headway on a few problems, rather than a little bit of progress in a lot of different directions.

“In health care, we're really good at throwing this technology out there, and we get some people using it, and then we go on to the next thing,” Wexler says. “And I said, we're not doing that. We're going to have saturation, and then we're going to move on to the next thing. And that will make a considerable difference in revitalizing care delivery.”

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Easing tension with technology

Providence is aiming to utilize AI and other technology to reduce stress on the system’s doctors.

“We started really focusing on this for our physicians, because I personally have felt that physicians and advanced practitioners have been left behind in this country,” he says.

While the public sees doctors earning attractive salaries, Wexler points out that inflation and insufficient reimbursements at the federal level have taken a toll.

Doctors are also getting worn down by rising workloads, including the time they’re spending on documentation and administrative hassles.

“They're seeing more patients. They're not getting renewed and refreshed, so that they come in the next day ready to take care of us, and feeling refreshed to be able to do that in the safest possible way,” Wexler says.

Providence is expanding the use of ambient documentation technology, which records conversations with patients and offers summaries of those visits. More systems are turning to AI-powered documentation tools to reduce the amount of time doctors and nurses are spending on patient records. Instead of typing away on a keyboard, and frequently looking away from the patient, doctors can have more normal conversations.

To date, Providence has provided ambient documentation to 1,600 physicians, and Wexler says the returns from doctors have been heartening.

“They're saying, it's life-changing,” Wexler says. “It's saving an hour and a half to four hours a day of their time.”

Wexler also says he’s looking to use those tools to help nurses as well.

“Our top strategic priority for us is to relieve that tension by using artificial intelligence and other technologies so people can get back to loving the work that they wanted to do right from the start of their career,” Wexler says.

‘Have more joy’

While doctors and healthcare leaders have welcomed AI-powered tools to cut down on documentation, some physicians have expressed concerns that they will be pressed to see more patients.

Wexler says he doesn’t look at those tools as a mechanism to get doctors to see more patients.

“I'm not expecting them to necessarily see more patients, and some are,” he says. “I'm expecting them to have more joy in the work that they do.”

“That's the joy that physicians feel when they are engaging with their patients,” Wexler says.

Too often, doctors are forced to focus on their monitors and update records, rather than putting their attention on their patients. Wexler is excited about AI tools that will help doctors connect better with their patients.

“What they have said is, they have lost the joy, not only because of the demands in the day, but as they're seeing the patient, they're looking at a screen and a keyboard, and they're not really able to ask all the questions and develop a good relationship with a patient,” Wexler says.

“So for those that are saving an hour and a half to four hours a day, what they've been telling me is they actually can develop that relationship,” he adds. “They can look the patient in the eyes.The ambient technology is doing most of the administrative work for them. They review it, and then they sign off on it, and that brings them comfort.”

Wexler is not a physician, but he says that he spends time getting their insights.

“I actually have to listen to them,” he says. “I can't make any assumptions. So I see that as kind of a benefit to me and hopefully to them.”

• Read more: How Providence is making its hospitals more sustainable