This section addresses concerns from your workforce that stem from a lack of understanding of what AI is and how it will be used at your organization. Use the following three conversations to help employees better understand AI and how it impacts your organization. 

Employees are often fearful of AI because they lack an understanding of what it actually is. Mainstream media has shaped people’s perceptions of AI, often incorrectly painting the field of technology as a singular, sentient, and threatening entity. Many healthcare employees don’t understand how AI has simple and practical applications within healthcare and their own roles. 

Give clinicians and staff a clear definition of what AI is and what it is not. Educate your workforce on how AI is currently used in healthcare and how it will be leveraged within your organization. 

“You already interact with AI in various ways, such as email suggestions and speech-to-text messaging. AI is also not a new technology in healthcare. It is an umbrella term for a variety of technologies that perform tasks that have traditionally relied on human intelligence. We encourage you to read this cheat sheet that explains what AI is and its uses in healthcare.

AI is not new to our organization either. [Communicate here how your organization is currently using AI]. As AI capabilities grow, our organization will continue to use AI to enhance care and business. Understanding AI can be intimidating, but we’ll provide you with any necessary information and training.”

Employees worry about how AI will impact their personal liability, and they don’t want to be held accountable for AI’s mistakes. 

Create a plan for how your organization will handle AI liability and protect your employees. Within this plan, develop a framework that outlines how vendors, leaders, and staff will be held responsible if there is a mistake and when challenges arise. Create a culture of accountability and transparency so that employees feel safe to share when mistakes occur. Educate employees on the likelihood of AI errors and the types of mistakes that could be possible. Lastly, reassure your workforce that there will be processes to monitor AI outputs to make sure the models are working properly. 

“Many AI technologies for administrative and clinical tasks are highly accurate. But regardless of AI’s accuracy and precision, we have policies and procedures in place to protect you. Our approach to protecting you includes the “human in the loop” strategy, which requires critical review and monitoring of AI outputs. Despite the accuracy of AI technologies, it is essential to avoid accepting AI suggestions without first considering if it makes sense. As we integrate AI solutions, we are developing a framework to outline employee accountability and liability. Our priority is to make you feel safe and comfortable using the technology."

Developments in AI, like ChatGPT, are everywhere in mainstream news and media. Employees are using AI products for personal purposes, such as creating meal plans or optimizing their schedules. Employees may be using these AI solutions at work even when they have not been approved.  

Organizations should develop guidelines on acceptable AI use. Make it very clear what qualifies as misuse under law and/or company policy. For clinicians, determine guidelines around patient consent and ethical AI use. As with all other important AI information, share these policies widely through multiple channels like trainings, office hours, and email updates. Consider making a few of your technology experts internal resource employees who can help answer questions about allowable AI use. 

“AI has increased in popularity and may be a tool you often use outside of work. However, our organization has a clear set of guidelines that outline which AI solutions are approved for use, and how to use them. It is essential to follow these guidelines to protect patient privacy, organizational intellectual property, and the integrity of our organization. Additionally, these guidelines will protect you and ensure that you only use AI that will be most beneficial to your workstream.”

This section addresses concerns surrounding disruption to workflows, efficiency, and capacity. The following two conversations will offer scripting to reassure employees that the investment in time to integrate AI will be worth the benefits. 

Employees are often subject to pilots with new procedures, policies, and protocols. In many cases these pilots are not scaled up or the organization moves on to the next new thing, leaving employees with a lot of change fatigue and a sense that they wasted their time. Employees may doubt AI’s permanence and the value of upskilling in a technology they believe either won’t last or will move to the next iteration too quickly. 

Communicate the steps taken to vet AI technologies and limit risk to your organization. Reassure your employees that through the vetting process your organization knows the AI technology is the right choice for long-term success. Emphasize that AI technologies will bring them value by improving their workflows. Soliciting their feedback will be essential for the successful and sustainable implementation of AI solutions.

“AI is here to stay. We are integrating new AI solutions to improve your workflows, increase efficiency, and create more bandwidth. We know the initial implementation of a new technology can feel different at first. You may have had experiences in the past where organizations have tried to implement new policies or technologies that did not work out. We recognize the frustration that comes from losing time learning a new process, but we made this decision based on the long-term value we know AI will have on your work. Your feedback throughout the entire process is essential to ensuring the sustainability of the new AI solution.” 

Employees have an established and familiar workflow, and an already busy schedule. Traditional healthcare technology investments historically added steps to workflows, causing loss of time and discomfort for the workforce. Many fear AI will pose a similar threat. AI is viewed as a disruption to employees’ norm, and as a result they feel as though they don’t have time to learn a new technology. 

First, collaborate with your employees early on to determine their areas of concern and to make sure the AI solution will optimize their workflows. Next, work with staff to review and evaluate the entire workflow ensuring that the technology streamlines and does not add more work. 

“We want the integration of AI into your workstreams to be as seamless as possible. You have taken the time to get to know your role very well and have processes that work for you. The goal of integrating AI is not to disrupt your process, but to make it more efficient. We will work with you to identify your top challenges and use this information to select AI solutions that will target those challenges. We know collaboration may sound time consuming and disrupt your already busy schedule, but it will pay off in the long run when we have solutions that improve your efficiency and work-life balance.”

This section addresses concerns from your workforce about job security, loss of autonomy, and diminished quality of care. The talking points in this section revolve around the change to an employee’s job identity. Use the following four conversations to set realistic expectations for how AI will change your employee’s roles and responsibilities. 

Employees are afraid that organizations will integrate AI solutions that will make their roles obsolete. Front desk staff and those with administrative roles are especially nervous as administrative tasks are often the first to be automated.

Explain how AI is intended to make improvements to human workflow, capacity, and generally make your employees lives easier– not replace humans in healthcare. Emphasize the need for your employees' skills and share with your workforce that the integration of AI technologies will not happen all at once. 

“We are using AI in our organization to alleviate burnout, reduce administrative burden, and improve patient experiences and outcomes. AI is built to improve the human working experience — not eliminate the need for it completely. AI will allow you to work at top-of-license and complete more interesting tasks. Healthcare will always rely on humans. Our human workforce provides unique benefits, like empathy and interpersonal skills needed for patient care. For AI to be effective, human labor is necessary and required. While AI won't replace humans entirely, those who embrace and use AI will likely replace those who do not.”

Clinicians primarily worry about using AI to automate diagnosis and other clinical tasks. Clinicians are not as fearful of AI replacing them completely, but they worry about how their autonomy and role will change. Some clinicians fear that AI will dictate patient care without their input. 

First, clarify for clinicians how AI will realistically impact clinical care decisions. While AI solutions for diagnostics and treatment are in development, most are not ready for full-time clinical use. If you use AI for the automation of administrative tasks, communicate to clinicians how the technology will impact their ability to provide care autonomously. Second, when integrating any type of AI, organizations should aim to preserve elements of clinician autonomy. Always get clinicians’ input when deciding which AI solutions to adopt. 

“Clinicians will always be the core of the healthcare system. There is no technology that will ever replace your clinical value or knowledge. Think of AI technologies as an assistant that will improve your work life and efficiency. We will include you in the AI evaluation process to ensure the technologies best address the challenges you face in your workflow. We want you to think of AI technologies as one tool in your toolbox to make your life easier and help you to better reach your clinical goals. We will not force you to use AI, but we hope that you will see the benefits after trying it out. 

AI also will not compromise your ability to make care decisions. You are the primary decision maker for your patients. AI is meant to serve as an aid. Right now, we are largely looking at integrating AI solutions that will address your administrative challenges and burnout. As AI evolves, so will we, and we will always work together to determine what AI technologies are best for you and our patients.”

Clinicians are afraid that AI will disrupt the clinician-patient relationship and quality of care. They fear that patients don’t like AI and don’t want it to replace all their human interactions. Clinicians also stress that AI cannot match the empathy needed to address patient needs. 

Emphasize that patients are not as concerned about AI as clinicians may think. For patients that do have reservations, encourage clinicians to champion AI to their patients and relay the benefits it holds for healthcare. For clinicians, emphasize that AI will not replace the human aspects of healthcare. The purpose of AI is not a replacement for empathy and holistic care. 

“Patients are more receptive to AI than you may think. A study conducted by Yale Cancer Center found 55.4% of patients believe AI would make healthcare either “somewhat better” or “much better.” We understand your hesitation about implementing AI technologies because it is difficult to know how each patient will feel about it. However, protecting the patient-clinician relationship is our number one priority as a healthcare organization. Automated notetaking, note translation, and patient education can significantly improve your relationship with your patients. The most important thing to do is to have a conversation with your patients about AI, obtain their consent, and share how it helps you as a clinician. Patients are more likely to have a positive perception of AI if they know it will improve their care.”

The introduction of AI technologies raises productivity expectations. As a result, employees fear that their jobs will become more demanding due to the assumption that they will now exclusively handle complex tasks and work at top-of-license. When AI solutions automate the “easier” tasks this leaves employees without a mental break, leading to further burnout.

Before seeking AI technologies for your organization, it is crucial for leadership to proactively define the purpose of the time saved through AI implementation. Actively evaluate how technologies will shift the balance of work for employees and ensure the type of work both matches their skillset and fits their desires. Communicate to employees how the additional bandwidth will be used. Ensure that the introduction of AI does not overburden or add significantly more work for your employees. Consider implementing initiatives such as wellness programs, breaks, or shorter workdays to help employees make the most of their extra time while still allowing them to work at their highest capacity. Achieving this balance will vary for each organization, but the key is to prevent AI from causing further burnout among employees.

“We are adopting AI technologies to reduce burnout and streamline your workflow, not add more than you should have to handle. Our goal is to create more time in your workday for your well-being and to enable you to work at your highest capacity. We are committed to avoiding overburdening you with more complicated responsibilities once automation is implemented. Instead, we strive to strike a balance that simplifies your lives and improves the efficiency of your workflows.”