Moral Dimensions of Listening in Healthcare Encounters: Patient Perspectives on AI-Enabled Voice Analysis Technologies
Friday, September 20, 2024
8:45 AM – 9:45 AM CT
Location: Midway 9 (First Floor)
Abstract: Empathetic listening is central to the practice of medicine, in which physicians aim to understand their patients’ needs, build a therapeutic alliance, and offer appropriate care. As healthcare systems explore the potential use of AI-supported listening technologies such as automated documentation and voice-based screening tools into clinical practice, these and other moral dimensions of medical listening will need to be reexamined. Given the importance of patient responses to voice-analysis technologies, and a lack of empirical data on patient perspectives, we conducted 15 focus groups with 107 patients in an effort to characterize the range of patient perspectives on acceptable uses of these technologies in healthcare.
We found that patients’ enthusiasm for automated documentation of clinical encounters using ambient listening stemmed from viewing such technologies as promoting increased physician-accountability for accurate notes and allowing for the review of medical documentation generated in real-time during a physician-patient encounter. In comparison, many patients viewed voice-based diagnostic screening as obscuring physician responsibilities, removing patient agency, and complicating appointment scheduling by highlighting irrelevant or incidental medical findings. Additionally, participants expressed reservations about increasing use of AI-supported voice-analysis technologies, noting that trust in their providers and their healthcare institutions would be premised on the vetting of such technologies. These and other patient perceptions highlight the need to examine how voice-analysis technologies may impact physician-patient relationships over time.
Learning Objectives:
After participating in this conference, attendees should be able to:
Understand patient perspectives on the potential impact of AI-enabled voice analysis for patient agency, physician responsibilities, and trust in healthcare
Reflect on the ethical implications of AI-enabled voice analysis technologies for the moral dimensions of listening and physician-patient relationship
Joel Pacyna, MA – Senior Health Services Analyst, Biomedical Ethics Research Program, Mayo Clinic; Susan Curtis, MLIS – Biomedical Ethics Coordinator, Biomedical Ethics Research Program, Mayo Clinic; Austin Stroud, MA – Health Services Analyst, Biomedical Ethics Research Program, Mayo Clinic; Journey Wise, BA – GREP Trainee, Biomedical Ethics Research Program, Mayo Clinic; Richard Sharp, PhD – Director and Professor of Biomedical Ethics & Medicine, Biomedical Ethics Research Program, Mayo Clinic
