Like it or not, artificial intelligence is a mainstay in healthcare.
For Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, the journey began two years ago at a NextGen Healthcare conference for industry leaders. There, a long-unanswered challenge—arduous and time-consuming patient charting—met a new technological solution: NextGen Ambient Assist.
“I went to a Medical Group Management Association meeting for healthcare leaders, followed immediately by the NextGen conference,” recalls Bob Theis, Chief Executive Officer at Sam Rodgers. “I heard a lot about how AI tools increased efficiencies. But I also heard a sobering statistic: doctors were spending up to 60% of their time documenting in electronic health records. My goal immediately became to reduce that administrative burden on our providers.”
Overcoming the Learning Curve
Theis launched a five-license pilot program. The rollout wasn’t seamless. To ease the learning curve, Sam Rodgers partnered closely with NextGen’s support team to walk clinicians through the technology step by step.
The breakthrough came rapidly. Theis recalls two nurse practitioners approaching him just before their new pediatric wing opened. They told him there was no going back. “We need this,” they told him.
Reclaiming the “Fifth Day”
For new clinicians, documentation is particularly grueling. One nurse practitioner finishing Sam Rodgers’ residency program asked for a four-day workweek, hoping for an extended weekend with her family. Clinically, she was fully prepared, but she quickly found herself spending her entire fifth day—her supposed day off—trapped in front of a screen, documenting for six to eight hours.
“This is exactly what leads to burnout,” Theis says. “The whole premise of our nurse practitioner residency program is to build the confidence they need to see patients. Physicians have multi-year residencies with extended guidance. And Sam Rodgers’ nurse practitioner residency program provides a year of structured clinical training, mentorship, and support. Although after one year they emerge well-prepared to care for patients, the sheer volume of documentation creates a massive administrative hurdle.”
Aisha Usman, the nurse practitioner residency graduate, who test-piloted Ambient Assist, experienced an immediate shift. “She said it was ‘life-changing,’” Theis said. “She got her fifth day back.”
Today, Sam Rodgers is seeing a 30% decrease in the time participating providers spend documenting. The technology also acts as a safety net, occasionally catching clinical details a provider could easily miss.
“It’s a win-win,” Theis says. “We have providers who are satisfied due to increased efficiencies, and patients who feel truly seen because their provider is face-to-face with them, rather than constantly staring down at a keyboard. Now, they spend their time where it matters most: with the patient.”
How it works
As Theis mentioned, the average healthcare provider spends up to a third of their workday trapped behind a computer screen, clicking boxes and typing notes instead of looking at their patients. To combat this administrative burnout, clinics are rapidly adopting ambient AI medical scribes like NextGen Ambient Assist.
But how does a tool running on a standard smartphone or tablet seamlessly convert a conversation into a professional medical chart? Here is how the technology works during a live patient visit.
- The Secure Opt-In
The process begins with transparency. Before starting the exam, the clinician asks the patient for verbal consent to use the tool. Once the patient agrees, the provider taps “Start” on their device, and the microphone begins securely streaming the audio. The doctor then places the device on the desk, so they can sit face-to-face with the patient without a keyboard blocking their interaction.
- Intelligent Listening
Unlike traditional dictation software, ambient AI does not require the doctor to speak in rigid commands or state punctuation out loud. The doctor and patient talk completely normally. They can discuss the weather, interrupt each other, or list complex symptoms.
As they speak, advanced Speech-to-Text models convert the raw audio into data. Advanced natural language processing (NLP) algorithms filter out the “noise”—ignoring casual small talk or a crying sibling in the room—while focusing strictly on the clinical facts.
- Structuring the Notes
Once the consultation ends, the provider taps “Stop.” Within seconds, a generative AI engine analyzes the transcribed text. It intelligently reorganizes the scattered dialogue into a standardized medical format, typically a SOAP note (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan).
The AI automatically groups symptoms into the history section, maps the doctor’s verbalized physical findings, and lists prescribed medications and follow-up instructions in neat, actionable bullet points.
- The Human Safety Net
Crucially, this technology never hits “save” on its own. The system sends the structured draft directly to the clinician’s EHR screen for review.
Because generative AI can occasionally omit details or make factual errors, the provider acts as the essential “human in the loop.” The clinician reviews the note, makes any necessary edits or additions, and personally signs off on the chart to make it a permanent legal record.
By handling the heavy lifting of documentation, ambient AI lets technology recede into the background—returning medicine’s focus to where it matters most: the human connection between doctor and patient.
The Flip Side of the Coin
Of course, AI adoption isn’t universal. Some providers at Sam Rodgers remain uncomfortable with ambient listening technology. For others, it’s simply a preference for the traditional charting modalities they have relied on for decades.
Theis is careful not to force the issue. “Instead of pushing the technology on providers, I’ll wait for them to request it. And increasingly, many are doing just that. They’re coming to me asking, ‘When do I get to do this? I don’t want to document on my couch at night or on weekends anymore.’
Yet, as with all emerging technology, ambient AI has a distinct downside.
While tools like Ambient Assist excel at capturing conversation, they are fundamentally generative models prone to AI hallucinations—instances where the software may confidently invent symptoms, misinterpret dosages, or omit critical clinical context. Because of this, providers maintain human oversight, review, and sign off on all documentation. Providers must also resist “automation bias”—the tendency to blindly trust the AI’s output—and meticulously review every note before signing off.
For Sam Rodgers, the technology isn’t a replacement for clinical judgment; it is a powerful assistant. By balancing AI efficiency with strict human oversight, the health center is proving that tech doesn’t have to distance doctors from patients—it can bring them together.
“Too often, people don’t think about healthcare until they are already sick,” Theis said. “We want to change that by building proactive, preventive relationships between patients and primary care providers. It’s easier said than done, but it is exactly why we are here: AI has a role to play in this.”
Theis says the technology ultimately serves a larger, foundational mission: provider-patient engagement and connectedness. “We serve the most vulnerable populations in Kansas City,” Theis explains. “Our founder, Dr. Samuel U. Rodgers, believed healthcare is a right, not a privilege, and he built the fourth FQHC in the country to prove it. Today, FQHCs serve 31 million citizens—10% of the American population.”
