AI On The Front Lines

AI on the Front Lines is a show about what AI is doing to medicine, from the people practicing it. Host Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld is a practicing anesthesiologist, former president of the American Medical Association, and Global Chief Medical Officer at Aidoc. Each episode visits a different seat in healthcare and asks how AI is changing the work from that point of view.

This week, Jesse sits down with Dr. Céline Gounder, infectious disease physician at Bellevue and CBS News medical correspondent. The two trained together at Mass General.

They talk about how AI is changing clinical work, which areas of medicine it is likely to affect first, and the skills doctors need to keep as AI tools become part of everyday care. Céline explains how she approaches documentation, why clinicians should be able to deliver care when the tools go down, and what health systems can learn from the rollout of the EHR. They also discuss how hospitals and insurers are using AI, the role of AI in patient communication, and how curiosity helps build trust with patients.

Learn more about Dr. Céline Gounder at celinegounder.com.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:35 Welcome to AI on the Front Lines
04:15 Cognitive and procedural specialties
09:56 Her approach to AI documentation tools
12:54 The skills doctors still need
20:13 How hospitals and insurers use AI
22:51 Lessons from the EHR rollout
26:12 AI and empathy in patient care
34:13 Curiosity and patient trust
35:56 Rapid fire