Let the Robot Handle It: Could Artificial Intelligence Reduce Burnout?

​Could artificial intelligence (AI) help reduce physician burnout? A new partnership between the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and Microsoft thinks it might, according to a February 16, 2017, article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Organizers of the project have offered few specifics, but speculation in the article centered around how AI could help clinicians with administrative tasks such as data entry and working with electronic health records (EHRs). "Data entry tasks take up time and attention that doctors should be giving to patients," UPMC's treasurer said in the article, adding that clinicians often feel like "they're a slave to the computer."