Jefferson Health is embarking on a bold commitment: Give clinicians back more than 10 million hours by 2028.
“The intent is to be able to reduce what they’re doing in terms of paperwork, manual processes, and allow them to get back to why they went into medicine, which is to help people,” Baligh Yehia, MD, president of the Philadelphia-based system, told Becker’s.
Jefferson physicians and advanced practice providers working in ambulatory settings all have access to ambient listening technology, which he said has already led to significant reductions in time spent documenting. With satisfaction levels high, the system is now working to give nurses access to the tool, as well as introduce it in inpatient care, starting with hospitalists and emergency department clinicians.
“We really led with our physicians and advanced practice providers, but we have a team right now working on nursing, which I think will be super transformative as we think about better ways to do handoffs across shift change and better ways to document,” Dr. Yehia said.
The aim to reclaim 10 million hours in two years is a central part of Jefferson’s broader AI strategy, which is focused on three core areas: Improving patient care and outcomes, slashing administrative burdens for more than 23,000 clinicians and enhancing operational efficiency.
Over the past year, the 32-hospital system has implemented 120 AI tools, all of which bolt back into the aforementioned areas. A large portion of the tools are actively supporting clinicians in advancing patient care, Dr. Yehia said. For example, Jefferson has predictive tools in place to identify patients at high risk for falls — which remain the most commonly reported sentinel event — and sepsis. AI-based tools are also being used in treatment.
“We are one of the first institutions in our region to use AI within radiation oncology therapy, so we can actually more accurately target cancer calls and not the normal cells when we administer radiation as part of cancer treatment,” Dr. Yehia said.
In terms of efficiency, AI is being used to streamline revenue cycle operations, call centers and back-office functions.
Jefferson has maintained a highly disciplined approach to AI through its AI steering committee, which was formed after the system merged with Leigh Valley Health Network in August 2024. The committee lives within Jefferson’s AI Center of Excellence, co-led by the chief clinical officer, Patricia Henwood, MD, and the CIO, Luis Taveras, PhD.
This organized structure has ensured AI use across Jefferson remains tightly aligned with its strategic priorities and mission to improve lives, Dr. Yehia said. Centralized oversight has helped the system stay focused on identifying tools that support enterprise goals and avoid deploying disconnected or duplicative tools across departments.
“In an organization as big as ours, it’s very easy for multiple vendors or companies to come in through any sort of door or window,” Dr. Yehia said. “So here it’s really around, how do we organize it, have a strategy and march toward that?”
As Jefferson continues to grow and scale its AI capabilities, leaders are deliberate in how they frame the role of technology. They routinely emphasize that AI’s expanded role is not a replacement for clinicians, but a tool to augment their capacity by supporting decision-making and allowing them to spend more time on direct patient care.
“We believe that we need to be high-tech and high-touch,” Dr. Yehia said. “Most of my career as an infectious diseases physician was spent taking care of people living with HIV, and as I talk to fellow clinicians, we know there is nothing that can replace how you interact with a patient.”
“You need to make sure you preserve that. If you’re a cancer patient, you want the latest and greatest therapy that is the most advanced technologically and medically, but you also want to make sure your nurses, physicians and anyone else that surrounds you sees you as a person and is responsive to your needs.”
The post ‘High-tech and high-touch’: Jefferson’s disciplined AI strategy appeared first on Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
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