The silent challenge in healthcare: How AI can help SA doctors rediscover the joy in medicine

Ivone Veiga-Moroldo, Head of Client Experience at Healthbridge.

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When the World Health Organisation officially recognised burnout as an occupational phenomenon in 2019, it validated what medical professionals worldwide had been experiencing for years. Chronic, unmanaged workplace stress is not merely a personal struggle: it is a systemic challenge that threatens the very foundation of healthcare delivery.

The numbers tell a sobering story. In the United States (US), recent data from The American Medical Association (AMA) indicates that physician burnout rates have declined from a pandemic peak of 62.8% in 2021 to 48.2% in 2023 and 43.2% in 2024.

While the rate dropped below 50% for the first time in four years, this still means nearly half of all medical professionals in the US are experiencing symptoms of burnout.

The human cost is immeasurable: compromised patient care, increased medical errors and a profession haemorrhaging talented individuals who entered medicine to heal, not to drown in administrative tasks.

In South Africa, our research conducted with local practitioners in late 2024 echoes the AMA’s findings. More than 80% of the medical professionals we interviewed reported inefficiencies in the collection and processing of patient information as possible reasons for burnout. One physician summarised his frustration well: “Too much time is spent on data gathering and entry. I became a doctor to heal people, not to be a data miner.”

The consequences are two-fold and deeply troubling:

• Shrinking consultation time: Over 70% of the medical professionals we interviewed report spending five to 10 minutes of every consultation gathering patient history, time that comes directly at the expense of patient interaction and the therapeutic relationship that lies at the heart of good medicine.
• Increased risk of errors: Incomplete or inaccurate data creates real dangers. As one medical professional we interviewed warned: "There's always a chance of misdiagnosis, of giving a medicine that shouldn't be given, or causing complications that are unnecessary because of a data challenge."

For years, the healthcare technology industry has focused on integration; connecting disparate systems to create a unified view of patient information. While necessary, integration alone is insufficient. As experience from other parts of the world demonstrates, having access to all information means nothing if medical professionals are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data.

This is where artificial intelligence (AI) moves from buzzword to lifeline.

The promise of AI in healthcare isn't to replace medical professionals, but to restore them to their rightful role as healers rather than data processors. When implemented thoughtfully, AI can serve as an intelligent copilot that handles the cognitive burden of data synthesis while leaving clinical judgment firmly in human hands.

Healthbridge has been working closely with South African medical professionals to understand the specific pressures they face. Through its Innovation Lab, Healthbridge has developed the Clinical Assistant. It is an AI-powered solution, fully integrated into Healthbridge Clinical, the company's electronic medical record, and designed to address the root causes of administrative burnout.

Clinical Assistant isn't a standalone tool; it's a seamlessly integrated partner in the clinical workflow that tackles three critical pain points:

• AI-powered visit summaries: Succinct, actionable snapshots of patient visit histories that medical professionals can quickly scan at the start of consultations, reclaiming those critical first five to 10 minutes.
• Smart AI communication channels: Digital patient engagement through the AI Pathology Messenger, the intelligent assistant that instantly analyses a patient’s full clinical history and turns complex lab reports into clear, patient-friendly WhatsApp messages in a single click.
• Automated administrative tasks: From AI-generated motivation letters to referral letters, the system handles routine documentation that consumes hours of physician time daily. The AI motivation letter is a personalised, evidence-based letter that automatically pulls all relevant clinical history to maximise medical aid approval. The referral letter is a tailored, comprehensive and specialist-ready letter that tells the patient’s complete clinical story, providing specialists with everything they need to deliver the best possible care.

The goal isn't to eliminate the human element of medicine, quite the opposite. By automating the mechanical aspects of data management, Clinical Assistant frees medical professionals to do what drew them to medicine in the first place: to listen deeply, think critically and connect genuinely with the human beings seeking their specialist care.

South Africa’s healthcare landscape is highly fragmented, with patient information scattered across multiple systems. Pathology results are stored in one place, radiology reports in another, specialist notes elsewhere and medical aid records on entirely separate platforms, making complex cases even more challenging. As one practitioner aptly described it: “Getting the full picture is an absolute nightmare.”

Clinical Assistant changes this. It intelligently aggregates data drawn from the patient’s entire record, similar to providing medical professionals with a “fresh pair of eyes”. It supports their decision-making with transparent reasoning and evidence, delivering the insights they need without the cognitive overload that drives burnout.

The integrated AI tool allows them to ask questions in plain language and get instant, comprehensive answers from a patient’s full history. It spots patterns and connections across years of data, highlights what matters and backs every insight with transparent evidence. Beyond that, it proactively suggests relevant insights and clinical considerations, giving medical professionals clarity without the overload.

The healthcare industry stands at a critical juncture. We can continue down the path where technology adds to the medical professional’s burden, or we can fundamentally re-imagine how digital tools serve clinicians and patients.

The WHO’s recognition of burnout as an occupational phenomenon was an important step. But recognition without action is meaningless. For South African healthcare to thrive, we need solutions tailored to our context, shaped by the experiences of medical professionals and grounded in the principle that technology should amplify human capability, not attempt to replace it.

The battle against physician burnout isn't just about the well-being of medical professionals, though that alone would justify urgent action. It's about the quality of care every patient receives. It's about whether our healthcare system can attract and retain the talented clinicians we desperately need. It's about whether we can build a sustainable model that delivers on medicine's fundamental promise: to heal.

AI offers a way forward, but only if we implement it with wisdom, humility and an unwavering focus on what matters most: the sacred relationship between doctor and patient. That's the vision driving Healthbridge Clinical Assistant; it’s a vision that could help South African medical professionals reclaim their time and rediscover the joy in medicine.