AI-based Informational Assistant for Automated Point-of-care Documentation and Protocol Retrieval

Clinical rounds in the intensive care unit (ICU) involve substantial manual documentation. Retrieving the correct protocol text and structuring notes at the bedside is time-consuming and may contribute to variation in documentation quality. Modern artificial intelligence (AI) can help structure existing information and automate protocol look-ups within a restricted, manually selected document set.

The tool evaluated in this study acts as an AI-based informational assistant for clinicians. It (1) pre-populates a standardized physical-exam and daily-rounds format, (2) prepares a concise ICU course/overview using predefined formatting, and (3) retrieves relevant passages from protocols to enable rapid consistency checks by the clinician.

The AI-based informational assistant does not provide treatment recommendations or patient-specific advice; all outputs require clinician verification and clinical responsibility remains with the physician.