Cold Tech, Warm Heart: How AI makes Private Practice More Personal
April 2, 2026
By: Dr. Erin King-Mullins
In the current world of medicine where burnout is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, I’d like to make another case for artificial, or augmented, intelligence. With having to care for patients in a manner driven toward documentation for insurance reimbursement, let’s discuss how template life has been normalized. How many times have you met with your EMR system team to discuss how to make as many templates as possible to improve efficiency and decrease charting time? While it may tick off a few minutes of charting time and checks off necessary boxes… at the end of the day, if you go back and actually read the notes, can you differentiate between the patients? Have you gotten to the point in medicine where you rely so much on the template that you really don’t listen to key information your patient may be sharing with you? Every hemorrhoid patient has the same complaint, or do they? Subtle differences in reported symptoms and timing of those symptoms can increase or lower your suspicion that something more sinister may be the root cause.
Using AI based software allows you to really listen to your patient. You can make direct eye contact and you can listen to what they’re saying and see what they aren’t saying. Sure, there’s a “third-party in the room” which you must disclose to the patient and obtain consent to use, but ultimately, they are telling a story that you need to capture. You can really practice the art of medicine by becoming more visually and physically engaged with the patient since you can reliably trust that what the patient is saying is being accurately documented. If there are other family members in the room, you can more accurately gauge that relationship and determine if they should be excused for the physical examination or to be able to ask more probing questions. Now, of course you have to train your AI resource on your notetaking preferences and documentation style. However, in a world where everyone already feels like a just number, this truly is a great resource to aid the restoration of the doctor-patient relationship. On future visits you can refer back to those detailed and personalized notes. Maybe a grandchild was on the way, or an important trip. In any case, being able to engage in a patient-centered manner instills trust in the relationship that can’t be accounted for with check-boxes.
Below are several resources for AI scribe software. I have no conflicts of interest or financial disclosures.
FreedAI, Heidi, MedQuill, Doximity, Dax Copilot
Erin King-Mullins, FACS, FASCRS
Colorectal Surgeon
Founder and CEO
Dr. Erin King-Mullins is a double board-certified general and colorectal surgeon. She transitioned to private practice in 2022 by founding Colorectal Wellness Center after serving as Faculty/Research Director for an Atlanta-based colorectal fellowship program. She has a husband with whom she shares an amazing, blended family. The kids keep them pretty busy, but their favorite times are spent on warm sunny beaches.