How Medical Practices Can Drive Value, Improve Efficiency, and Enhance Patient Experience with AI

My role as chief information officer at Chicago Cornea Consultants—alongside my entrepreneurial spirit – has shown me how closely financial and operational efficiency are tied to achieving positive patient outcomes.

Many physician-entrepreneurs and specialty providers know that independently owned and operated facilities require a strategic balance to achieve both clinical excellence and business success. Patient-centered healthcare requires more than top-tier care delivery — it also demands a solid financial and operational foundation.

Faced with these challenges, technology plays an important role in building meaningful provider-patient interactions and fiscal stability.

Human connection and communication are vital to healthcare success.

In 2024, The Patient Experience Report by Press Ganey cited human connection and communication as two critical factors in creating a positive patient experience. Although these aspects of healthcare may seem intuitive, they can be exceptionally difficult to achieve for specialty practices amid mounting responsibilities on the clinical team, limited staff, and a high volume of patients. Press Ganey’s report emphasized technology's critical role in enhancing interactions as providers aim to create more opportunities for personalized care.

While emerging technologies often feel like promising solutions to human-centered challenges, often they are not a silver bullet. Actual progress comes from pairing the right strategies, tools, and training to empower providers to step beyond the screen and create meaningful connections with their patients. Technology can assist in addressing challenges, but it works best as a supportive tool – not the sole answer – for solving human-focused problems.

Technology can make or break patient experience.

And while on the topic of shiny objects, artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be one of the most discussed innovations at the intersection of healthcare and technology. While its emergence has been evaluated by both enthusiasts and skeptics, lived experiences and use cases serve as the most practical guides to intentional AI implementation in medical facilities.

In my experience caring for hundreds of patients in one caseload, maintaining individual connection is essential. Yet, administrative tasks such as documentation can create a barrier to meaningful interactions. That’s where technology, like AI, can shine.

AI scribes and notetakers are powerful tools that support accurate data entry while allowing for greater focus on patients. By reducing the burden of clinical documentation, there are fewer distractions, more eye contact, and stronger connections that reassure patients they are truly cared for.

Beyond the exam room, AI enhances patient communication through personalized appointment reminders, post-visit care instructions, and even AI chatbots capable of answering routine questions. These enhancements give valuable time back to spend on high-touch clinical priorities.

Stable finances empower quality patient care.

As a physician-entrepreneur at a local, independent practice, financial sustainability is just as critical as clinical success. According to the American Medical Association, nearly 32% of physicians younger than 45 owned their own practice in 2022. While this number has declined compared to past generations of doctors, nearly a third of medical facilities remain small, and also independently owned and run.

For these practices, back-office teams often wear many hats and revenue cycle efficiency is essential. This means remaining agile and accurate while meeting the demands of hundreds or thousands of patients in one practice.

Revenue cycle is a prime avenue for AI to lighten the load, offering benefits including claims automation, billing accuracy, and faster reimbursements. For specialty facilities like ophthalmology, where coding and billing teams are typically small and payer environments are complex, accuracy and speed are invaluable.

Additionally, AI is developing in a way that can provide actionable insights that allow physicians to identify patterns and optimize processes. For example, spotting trends in claim denials or billing errors enables us to address root causes and reduce inefficiencies over time.

Supporting, not replacing, the human connection.

Quality care delivery must always remain our top priority. AI is not a replacement for human connection, rather it is a tool to support the patient journey from the exam room and beyond.

For independent practices like mine, AI integrations help us stay competitive, improve operations, remain financially viable and most importantly, provide compassionate patient care. While providers continue to grapple with many challenges in today’s evolving healthcare landscape, opportunities for innovation abound for those willing to take the next step.

Neel Vaidya, M.D., M.P.H., is chief information officer at Chicago Cornea Consultants, a Chicago-based specialty medical practice.