Balancing Benefits and Risks of AI Mitigation of Clinician Burden, with Ellen Gelles, MD

As AI tools become more integrated into clinical workflows, their promise to reduce administrative burden is clear, as well as their risks. Technologies like ambient documentation and AI-powered chart review can save time and improve efficiency, but they also raise concerns about accuracy, omission, bias, and data privacy. Clinicians must navigate a fast-moving landscape where errors may go unnoticed, cognitive engagement may be reduced, and automation bias could creep into decision-making. While the technology continues to improve rapidly, careful oversight, critical thinking, and transparent safeguards are essential to ensure that AI enhances and not compromises clinical care.

Ellen Gelles, MD, Internal Medicine Physician and Clinical Informaticist at the MetroHealth System and associate professor at Case Western Reserve University, along with Stephen Ma, MD, and Deepti Pandita, MD, participated in a panel at the American College of Physicians (ACP) Internal Medicine (IM) Meeting 2025, held April 3-5, in New Orleans, Louisiana, that focused on how these AI tools can help reduce clinician burden.

“I hope this will encourage more people to go into primary care, because one of the things that my residents always say is that they're worried about the burden of, for example, in basket and documenting… I also just caution [clinicians] to be really vigilant about making sure these tools are accurate and that you're having these checks,” Gelles said.

HCPLive sat down with Gelles during the meeting to learn more about some of these new and upcoming AI tools and also the risks and concerns that may come with using them, including training on biased data, ensuring accuracy, and data security. She ended by sharing her excitement for the tools and hoping that the ease of administrative burden may encourage more clinicians to go into internal medicine.

Gelles had no disclosures to report.

REFERENCE

Gelles E, MA S, Pandita D. How AI Can Reduce Clinician Burden. Presented at: ACP IM Meeting 2025; April 3-5; New Orleans, Louisiana.