Why Your Doctor May Finally Be Looking You in the Eye Again
(NewsUSA)
- For decades, a quiet “third party” has sat in exam rooms across America: the computer screen. Patients have grown used to seeing the back of their doctor’s head—eyes fixed on a keyboard or tablet instead of on them—as notes are diligently entered.
That dynamic is starting to change.
ModMed®, a leading provider of software and services to specialty medical practices, is spearheading a shift toward using artificial intelligence to restore the human connection in medicine. Its AI-powered Assistant, ModMed Scribe 2.0, listens in the background and automatically suggests relevant content for patient visit notes, helping providers trade screens for eye contact and data points for dialogue.
For Dr. James Bienvenu, a urologic oncologist who sees dozens of patients each day, the administrative workload once felt like a second job waiting after hours.
"When you see dozens of patients a day, the sheer volume of clinical documentation can easily become overwhelming," said Bienvenu. “ModMed Scribe has revolutionized my patient interactions. The AI quietly captures the natural flow of our conversation in the background, allowing me to maintain eye contact and stay fully engaged without the distraction of a screen. It has reduced my documentation time by 50% while helping me make sure the patient history is spot on and every billable service is accurately captured. I’m now completing most of my notes before a patient checks out. It’s allowed me to look at my patients instead of a screen."
I Left Feeling Heard, Not Just Processed
For patients like Mary Beth Johnson, who visits specialists in New York for routine wellness and preventive care, the difference has been immediate and tangible.
"In the past, I felt like I was competing with the computer for my doctor's attention. You’d mention something important, and you could see them turn to the screen. This time, there was nothing in between us. We just talked. It felt personal again—like the kind of care people used to talk about—but with modern technology quietly supporting it. I left feeling heard, not just processed."
A Smarter Practice, From Check-In to Follow-Up
ModMed is building the AI-Powered Practice™ to support the entire patient journey by bringing powerful AI Assistants to every corner of a specialty medical practice—from scheduling and visits to billing and follow-up. These Assistants take over repetitive, mundane tasks, freeing up providers to focus on the important work of providing quality care.
"Healthcare will always be human at its core," said Dan Cane, co-CEO and co-Founder, ModMed. "Our goal isn't to replace the doctor with AI; it's to use AI to get the technology out of the way.”
Beyond efficiency, providers report something harder to measure but just as important: relief. By reducing documentation demands, the technology can eliminate hours of administrative busywork, providing much-needed breathing room.
Specifically, providers say they’re now finishing notes before leaving the office—and, more importantly, walking into each visit more present and less distracted.
Cane commented further: “As AI continues to permeate the medical field, the gold standard for success won't be measured by efficiency and speed alone—it will be measured by the minutes of human connection restored between a provider and their patient.”
About ModMed
At ModMed, we empower medical practices to grow and scale by delivering better patient experiences with cloud, data and AI technologies. Leveraging extensive clinical datasets, we design intelligent software solutions to simplify, automate and streamline clinical workflows and drive practice efficiency. Our specialty-specific EHR, practice management, revenue cycle management and analytics solutions, as well as products for patient engagement, payment processing and marketing, are trusted by over 40,000 providers to drive clinical and operational success. Learn more at modmed.com, read our blog and follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Instagram.
