The Doctor Will See You Now, and Like Never Before: What AI Is Already Doing in the Exam Room

Dr. Jeffrey Laman has already answered a question many family physicians are still wrestling with. A board-certified ABFM Diplomate at Cleveland Clinic Florida Family Medicine, Dr. Laman has made the use of artificial intelligence a routine part of every patient visit. When ABFM Senior Advisor to the President Dr. David Price explored the broader landscape of AI in family medicine earlier this year, he spoke of an emerging technology still finding its footing in clinical practice. For Dr. Laman, that moment has already arrived.

Dr. Laman recently completed the ABFM’s AI/ML Self-Directed Performance Improvement activity, using AI to generate individualized after-visit instructions through the Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR) system for at least 90% of his patients. His goal was met. We sat down with him to hear what it taught him and what he thinks may come.

“I hear it every day, patients saying, ‘Doc, you look at me like you’re paying attention.’ That’s probably the number one thing they love most”

Bespoke Patient Education

Dr. Laman’s dissatisfaction with generic patient education materials predates AI. The pamphlets handed out after most office visits covered a diagnosis in only the most basic terms, rarely reflecting the specific medication or lifestyle discussions that took place in the exam room. When he joined Cleveland Clinic and found that its AI tool could convert his in-room conversation into personalized after-visit instructions, he moved quickly.

“I’ve always found that if I educate patients, they do better. I’ve never been happy with any of the generic pamphlets we give out. They’re not individualized,” Dr. Laman said.

Using an Epic dot phrase (a pre-programmed text shortcut within the EHR), he built a one-click workflow that populates the after-visit summary from the transcript of the visit in about 30 seconds, while he and the patient were in the room. Patients leave with a printed copy and receive the same document through their Epic MyChart patient portal. He also noticed an unexpected benefit: without a keyboard demanding his attention, he makes far more eye contact.

“I hear it every day, patients saying, ‘Doc, you look at me like you’re paying attention.’ That’s probably the number one thing they love most,”

A Real Teach-Back Tool

Research suggests patients forget as much as 40 to 80% of what their physician tells them immediately after their visit. Dr. Laman cites that figure often, and said AI-generated instructions have meaningfully closed that gap in his practice. His rate of non-adherence has dropped to the point where he rarely has to revisit it at follow-up.

“By the time you get to your car, you miss everything. Look at the instructions, because everything I said is there. It’s individualized to you. It’s not some pamphlet,” Dr. Laman tells his patients.

The documentation benefits extend beyond enhanced patient education. More detailed AI-generated notes may improve continuity of care, reduce errors when other clinicians review a chart, and may also offer legal protection he did not have before.

“Everything that you say is going to be there. Just make sure you say it,” Dr. Laman said.

Documentation: The First Frontier

Dr. Laman sees documentation as only the first frontier. He expects AI to expand into order entry, health maintenance reminders, in-basket responses, and paperwork. He believes this technology could let physicians comfortably increase their patient volume by 20 to 30 percent without added burnout. In the context of a national physician shortage, he sees that as significant.

“There is a human-to-human interaction that cannot be spoken for”

Dr. Laman is not without concerns. While he does not believe AI will replace family physicians, noting that “there is a human-to-human interaction that cannot be spoken for” he does think residency programs face a real question about how much to integrate AI into training before residents have fully developed their clinical instincts.

For Dr. Laman, the personal verdict is clear: AI has made him more present with patients, cut his administrative burden, and improved follow-through on care plans. His message to colleagues who are still on the fence is direct: “AI has gotten so good and so comprehensive that if you don’t use it, you’re going to be left behind.”

His experience is one example of what Dr. Price described at the broader level: a technology that, in the right hands, is already reshaping what it means to practice the specialty of family medicine.

Dr. Jeffrey Laman is an ABFM Diplomate and board-certified family physician practicing in Florida. ABFM extends a special thank you to Dr. Laman for sharing his experience and insights.