Artificial intelligence-generated draft replies to patient messages in pediatrics

Objectives This study describes the utilization and experiences of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated draft responses to patient messages in pediatric ambulatory clinicians and contextualizes their experiences in relation to those of adult specialty clinicians. Materials and Methods A prospective pilot was conducted from September 2023 to August 2024 in 2 pediatric clinics (General Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine) and 2 obstetric clinics (Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and General Obstetrics) within an academic health system in Northern California. Participants included physician, nurse, and medical assistant volunteers. The intervention involved a feature utilizing large language models embedded in the electronic health record to generate draft responses. Proportion of AI-generated draft used was collected, as were prepilot and follow-up surveys. Results A total of 61 clinicians (26 pediatric, 35 obstetric) enrolled, with 46 (75%) completing both surveys. Pediatric clinicians utilized 13.3% (95% CI, 12.3%-14.4%) of AI-generated drafts, and usage rates when responding to patients vs their proxies was similar (15% vs 12.9%, P = .24). Despite using AI-generated drafts significantly less than obstetric clinicians (18.3% [17.2%-19.5%], P < .0001), pediatric clinicians reported a significant reduction in perceived task load (NASA Task Load Index: 59.9–50.9, P = .04) and were more likely to recommend the tool (LTR: 7.0 vs 5.2, P = .04). Discussion and Conclusion Pediatric clinicians used AI-generated drafts at a rate within previously reported ranges in adult specialties and experienced utility. These findings suggest this tool has potential for enhancing efficiency and reducing task load in pediatric care.