Generative AI Tools for Nurses Still a Point of Contention

• Tech companies like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft have joined forces with hospitals to develop generative AI tools for nurses.
• Despite the benefits health officials tout for AI, others are more skeptical.
• Some nurses in California and Tennessee protested earlier this year against the use of AI.

Generative AI tools for nurses could lead to a new wave of medical documentation efficiency. But some practitioners and advocacy groups have reservations about the technology and its impact on the nursing industry. 

Collaboration Creates Generative AI Tools for Nurses 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are among the tech companies that have joined forces with hospitals to develop generative AI tools for nurses. The goal is to streamline documentation processes and give practitioners more face time with patients. 

Dr. Angela Shippy, MHA, FACP, FHM is Amazon Web Services’ Senior Physician Executive and Clinical Innovation Lead, Healthcare. She spoke to HealthTech on the subject and said making documentation easier includes combining information from electronic health records (EHR), patient conversations, and external records.

Similarly, Microsoft has prioritized addressing challenges in nursing documentation and workflows. Mary Varghese Presti, BNS, MPH, wrote that the company has worked firsthand with nurses, nurse managers, and executives — even shadowing nurses —to see how AI could best be utilized. 

Some hospitals and healthcare organizations Microsoft has partnered with are already using a “preview version” of the technology. 

“As I engage in the dialogue between nursing leaders and industry innovators, I have no doubt the future will be transformed,” wrote Varghese Presti, who also serves as vice president of portfolio evolution and incubation for Microsoft Health and Life Sciences. “Collectively, we have the ambition and the conviction to point these breakthrough technologies at our most critical problems, in support of some of the most essential members of the healthcare industry: our nurses.” 

Opposition to ‘Untested Technologies’ 

Despite the benefits health officials tout for AI, others are more skeptical. One study showed that, when used as a facilitator, AI can help decrease the risk of patient decline. But one of its authors noted that the model used in the study was “far from perfect.”

Plus, nurses in California and Tennessee protested earlier this year against the use of AI.

“Nurses are all for tech that enhances our skills and the patient care experience,” Michelle Gutierrez Vo, an RN at Kaiser Permanente’s San Francisco Medical Center and California Nurses Association president, stated in a news release. “But what we are witnessing in our hospitals is the degradation and devaluation of our nursing practice through the use of these untested technologies.” 

A Kaiser Permanente spokesperson told Becker’s Health IT that its AI tools “don’t make medical decisions.” Rather, the technology is intended to help enhance care. 

Still, National Nurses United believes AI will hinder quality care, stating that while they don’t oppose “scientific or technological advancement,” they don’t want algorithms replacing the nurses’ hands-on approach. 

The Bottom Line

Tech companies like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft have been collaborating with hospitals and healthcare organizations to implement generative AI for nurses. They believe AI will reduce the time spent on documentation and allow nurses to spend more time with their patients. However, conflicting views exist within the medical community on whether or not AI is a valuable tool and its impact on nurses as a whole. 

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