When IMO Health published our insight brief, Harnessing the potential of ambient AI, last fall, we explored how emerging technology could transform clinical workflows, reduce burnout, and improve patient interactions. Those insights remain as relevant as ever, but the landscape has evolved. Today, ambient clinical intelligence (ACI) is actively reshaping provider experiences. As more organizations adopt these solutions, new challenges and opportunities are emerging.
Reaping the benefits of ambient AI
The promise of ACI is no longer theoretical. Clinicians have already seen tangible benefits, from optimized workflows to a long-sought reduction in “pajama time.” Ambient technology can seamlessly take a patient’s history, document the reason for the visit, and record assessments and plans. The introduction of note summary screens and dual-view displays that compare the structured note to the audio text file has strengthened clinicians’ confidence in these systems.
Facing new challenges
However, the healthcare industry now faces its next significant challenge: moving from documentation to true data understanding and codification. Capturing what was said is no longer sufficient. Now, these systems must comprehend the meaning behind the words.
Can the AI distinguish between “follow up with an oncologist for suspected cancer” and “patient has cancer”? That distinction impacts care plans, outcomes, and revenue integrity. This is where IMO Health is helping close the gap, infusing ACI applications with our rich, proprietary clinical terminology to ensure every phrase is mapped to the correct codes and reflects a clinician’s true intent.
Ensuring accuracy, context, and compliance
Risk adjustment and revenue also hinge on context. Understanding the problem list before writing into the electronic health record (EHR) prevents duplicate risk coding (or “double dipping”) within hierarchical condition categories (HCCs) or duplicating semantically similar datapoints in the problem list. IMO Health’s data intelligence ensures information entered into the record is accurate, complete, and compliant – not just at a SNOMED CT® or ICD-10-CM level, but aligned with the nuances of clinical language.
At the same time, appropriate follow-up tracking, like confirming that specialist referrals were scheduled, keeps patients within the health system and strengthens continuity of care. As ambient systems evolve, trust becomes both their differentiator and their greatest challenge.
Because these tools now go beyond generating .wav files to writing directly into the patient record, clinicians are right to ask: How do I know this isn’t introducing errors or bias? Ensuring accurate information is written into the EHR is critical for meeting regulatory requirements and maintaining transparency. Simply documenting isn’t enough – understanding is essential.
What’s next for ambient AI
Looking ahead, ACI has the potential to become a clinician’s “peripheral brain.” Even as data becomes codified accurately, the true value lies in empowering providers to synthesize relevant history, surface clinical insights, and deliver better care in the moment.
IMO Health’s deep expertise in clinical terminology and EHR data structures, along with our deep-rooted foundation that supports the clinician’s voice in software workflows, is helping to make the future of ambient AI more human.
