Paul Wiley began his career at United Airlines and Sabre Holdings, where he built predictive models for flight scheduling. That career trajectory changed course when a casual conversation with a doctor friend led him to healthcare.
"He said, 'Look, I'm working more, making less money, and the patients who need care the most are not getting in to see me,'" Wiley said. "So he asked, 'Is there a way to apply the predictive analytics and AI from the airline industry into healthcare scheduling?'"
That question eventually led Wiley to his current role as president of AvodahMed, a health-tech and AI company that provides scribes and clinical documentation platforms for physicians and healthcare providers. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Westlake, Texas, it operates as the digital health division of Avodah.
Focusing on the Customer and Solving Real Problems
A 2024 MGMA Stat Poll found that about 80% of respondents said they already have an AI tool (38%) or plan to add one in the next year (42%). The most cited tools were ones geared to "scribing/documentation," the type of AI Wiley oversees at AvodahMed.
While the demand for AI is there, Wiley said not to allow the tech's needs override the needs of the customer. "The customer is who matters the most," he said. “You could build the coolest product or feature in any industry, but if it's not easy to deploy or use, then no one's going to use it.”
Wiley stressed the need to design AI tools that integrate seamlessly into existing healthcare workflows, allowing providers to adopt them without disrupting their daily tasks. "Change management is hard when it’s in the workflow. It’s almost impossible when it’s outside of it," he explained.
Nsight: AvodahMed's Ambient Clinical Assistant
AvodahMed's AI solution, Nsight, improves operational efficiency by automating various administrative tasks, including documentation, billing and coding. By eliminating the need for physicians to input notes manually, the technology allows doctors to focus on patient care while reducing administrative burdens. “Our goal, our vision and mission is to get rid of the keyboard,” Wiley said. He added, “We’re seeing, on average, an hour saved every day for a provider to do documentation.”
According to the AvodahMed site, the technology is HIPAA compliant. AvodahMed requires "partner organizations to agree to a BAA that requires them to adhere to best practices related to privacy, security, and notification protocols in the event of a breach."
In detailing Nsight's functionality, Wiley explained that it can distinguish between relevant and irrelevant details during a patient encounter, noting, “All those types of things get pulled out,” ensuring that only essential clinical information remains in the notes.
This time-saving has the potential to significantly reduce physician burnout, a widespread issue in the industry. The Physician Foundation’s 2023 Survey of America’s Current and Future Physicians found that six in 10 doctors report feeling some form of burnout. Much of that burnout is due to administrative burden, with many providers completing documentation at home after hours, often on the couch with their families. “If we had to go home and just plan on doing an extra hour of work every night, we would get frustrated as well,” Wiley said.
AI and Ambient Technology Integration
A February 2024 study by Kaiser Permanente researchers, published in NEJM Catalyst, found ambient AI scribe use was linked to reduced time physicians spent on documentation and in the EHR. "Ambient AI really focuses on being in the background, which is where, in my opinion, that's where AI belongs in healthcare," Wiley said.
Ambient AI tools, like those from AvodahMed, automatically transcribe doctor-patient conversations and handle the documentation process without interfering with patient care. Wiley explains, "You want all of the noise in the background so the patient and the doctor can focus on what's most important."
When discussing how AvodahMed integrates with electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs), Wiley shares that AvodahMed currently integrates with platforms such as Athena and Veradigm. "We're adding more by the month," he says, noting that integrating with EMRs is crucial to making AI effective. "If the provider has to go copy and paste it into the EMR, then we're really not solving their problem," he said.
Choosing the Right AI Solution for Your Practice
Wiley offers advice to healthcare leaders looking to adopt AI-based solutions, suggesting they focus on four key areas:
- solving real problems
- ensuring strong ethical and security controls
- integrating seamlessly into workflows
- and partnering with a trusted vendor.
By focusing on these criteria, medical practices can ensure they select AI tools that truly meet their needs and improve their operations. As Wiley noted, “You don’t want a point solution. You want an integrated, end-to-end solution.”
Resources:
- For more information on AvodahMed and its AI solutions, visit avodahmed.com.
MGMA Resources:
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