An Approach to Potentially Increasing Adoption of an Artificial Intelligence–Enabled Electronic Medical Record Encounter in Canadian Primary Care: Protocol for a User-Centered Design

Abstract

Background Primary care physicians are at the forefront of the clinical process that can lead to diagnosis, referral, and treatment. With electronic medical records (EMRs) being introduced and, over time, gaining acceptance by primary care users, they have now become a standard part of care. EMRs have the potential to be further optimized with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI). There has yet to be a widespread exploration of the use of AI in primary health care and how clinicians envision AI use to encourage further uptake. Objective The primary objective of this research is to understand if the user-centered design approach, rooted in contextual design, can lead to an increased likelihood of adoption of an AI-enabled encounter module embedded in a primary care EMR. In this study, we use human factor models and the technology acceptance model to understand the results. Methods To accomplish this, a partnership has been established with an industry partner, TELUS Health, to use their EMR, the collaborative health record. The overall intention is to understand how to improve the user experience by using user-centered design to inform how AI should be embedded in an EMR encounter. Given this intention, a user-centered approach will be used to accomplish it. The approach of user-centered design requires qualitative interviewing to gain a clear understanding of users’ approaches, intentions, and other key insights to inform the design process. A total of 5 phases have been designed for this study. Results As of March 2024, a total of 14 primary care clinician participants have been recruited and interviewed. First-cycle coding of all qualitative data results is being conducted to inform redesign considerations. Conclusions Some limitations need to be acknowledged related to the approach of this study. There is a lack of market maturity of AI-enabled EMR encounters in primary care, requiring research to take place through scenario-based interviews. However, this participant group will still help inform design considerations for this tool. This study is targeted for completion in the late fall of 2024. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/54365