Emory Healthcare Sees 30% Reduction in Clinician Inboxes with Physician-built AI Inbox Management Tool

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

Emory Healthcare has successfully implemented Switchboard, MD's MDAware Inbox Management solution, enhancing communication and operational efficiency for staff and clinicians across four specialty clinics where the technology is being used. With MDAware, 30% of all patient portal messages are now being automatically rerouted to dedicated staff to return patient follow-up calls and messages. This allows staff and clinicians to focus on patient care, freeing up clinical resources.

MDAware is Switchboard, MD's flagship AI solution, built by Emory physician Blake Anderson, MD. The technology streamlines patient-provider communication by instantly triaging and routing inbound messages to the most appropriate team member. By eliminating the task of clinicians manually rerouting messages, this solution supports Emory's dedication to innovation and maintaining the highest standards of patient-centered care.

"As a physician who has been with Emory for more than 12 years, I've experienced the large volume of patient portal messages in my inbox, firsthand," says Anderson, who is also the Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Technology Officer of Switchboard, MD. "It became abundantly clear to me that we needed a better solution to prevent this administrative burden from overwhelming clinical staff. This is what drove me to build MDAware -- to streamline the process, reduce clinician burnout, and give providers more time to focus on their patients. With over 70 years of combined family involvement at Emory, seeing MDAware in action and already driving results feels deeply rewarding."

Since it was deployed, MDAware has helped Emory Healthcare achieve smoother operations, improved patient satisfaction, and created a more unified support system for staff. This collaboration showcases how responsible AI can effectively address some of the health care industry's most pressing challenges, including physician burnout and patient communications.