How AI Applications in Healthcare Help Oncologists
In this insightful interview, Dr. Debra Patt shares how AI applications in healthcare are transforming the daily realities of clinical care. As a breast medical oncologist and health policy leader, she describes the power of ambient AI scribe technology, which reduces administrative burdens and improves patient communication by instantly generating visit notes. She outlines specific benefits—from more accurate ICD-10 coding to enhanced decision-making in cancer care—that not only help providers get patients the right treatment faster, but also streamline billing and prior authorization. Her perspective offers a grounded, real-world view of "what are the applications of AI in healthcare" today, especially for oncology practices navigating high patient loads and value-based care demands.
Episode Contents:
About the Guest
Dr. Debra Patt is vice president of the Community Oncology Alliance, serves on the ASCO Board of Directors, and chairs ASCO’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force.
Notable Quote
We call it the ‘home for dinner campaign’—AI scribes let doctors finish work faster and improve care.
Key Takeaways
- AI enhances screenings, diagnostics, and clinical decision support in oncology.
- Ambient AI scribes reduce physician workload and improve note accuracy.
- Better documentation with AI supports reimbursement and value-based care.
- AI tools optimize prior authorization, speeding up patient access to treatments.
- Over 500 providers at Texas Oncology are actively using AI scribe technology.
Condensed Transcript
Q: What problems is AI helping physicians solve today, particularly in cancer care?
Dr. Patt: AI is becoming embedded across care delivery—from enhancing mammograms and reading CT scans to supporting complex therapeutic decisions. In oncology, it helps doctors match patients to clinical trials and adapt care plans as their conditions evolve.
Q: How does AI reduce the administrative burden for physicians?
Dr. Patt: I use an AI scribe in clinic. It captures my conversations with patients and drafts a visit note within 30 seconds. This improves efficiency and ensures patients get timely, accurate summaries of their care. Across Texas Oncology, over 500 providers use AI scribes, which also code co-morbidities we often overlook—improving documentation for reimbursement and care coordination.
Q: Can AI improve the prior authorization and reimbursement process?
Dr. Patt: Absolutely. AI listens to and documents the rationale behind tests like thyroid panels when using immunotherapy. That helps justify care decisions, supports value-based care metrics, and ensures proper reimbursement—sometimes impacting compensation by thousands of dollars per patient.
About the Series
AI and Healthcare—with Mika Newton and Dr. Sanjay Juneja is an engaging interview series featuring world-renowned leaders shaping the intersection of artificial intelligence and medicine.
Dr. Sanjay Juneja, a hematologist and medical oncologist widely recognized as “TheOncDoc,” is a trailblazer in healthcare innovation and a rising authority on the transformative role of AI in medicine.
Mika Newton is an expert in healthcare data management, with a focus on data completeness and universality. Mika is on the editorial board of AI in Precision Oncology and is no stranger to bringing transformative technologies to market and fostering innovation.