At the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, artificial intelligence (AI) is used to streamline administrative tasks and soon, advanced care.
According to the American Medical Association’s 2026 Physician Survey on AI, over 80% of physicians now use AI to tackle documentation and other administrative tasks, putting those among the most common uses, as reported in Texas Medicine Today.
Edward Sankary, MD, consultant to the Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Health Information Technology and Augmented Intelligence, says AI’s administrative boons cannot be overstated. For example, he and other physicians at UT Health San Antonio use ambient scribes to help with clinical note transcription and summarization, with some models specifically designed for certain specialties, like hematology, oncology, and orthopedics.
He said the technology has been a “significant source of improvement in physician life, with reduction of workloads and related burnout.”
“It’s become cliche, but AI in documentation has been a game changer for physicians,” the internist said.
However, it’s not just documentation he’s excited about. As the chief health information officer at UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Sankary works to ensure his organization’s information technology, including AI tools, support clinical growth and are compliant with state and federal law and his own institution’s guardrails. He also helps the organization find new ways to improve patient care through technology – and, lately, AI has been at the forefront of that discussion, he says.
For instance, each room within the advanced care center at UT Health San Antonio’s research hospital includes a virtual care wall mount, outfitted with a camera, speaker, and microphone – and soon, AI functionality.
The wall mount’s hardware – integrated within the electronic health record platform UT Health San Antonio uses within its research hospital – provides real-time audio and video monitoring within every exam room, among other offerings. The research hospital is also working to add a conversational AI chatbot to the wall mounts. Soon, patients admitted within the advanced care clinic will be able to ask the AI-assisted chatbot for help or information. The bot will then alert a nurse or physician, who will be able to enter the patient encounter with that information on hand.
Under Texas House Bill 149, patients must be informed with written disclosures when they interact with an AI system. HB 149 does not specify how physicians should disclose their use of the technology, but disclosures must be clear and conspicuous, written in plain language, and not use a “dark pattern” on any printed copies.
Although Dr. Sankary said the technology is still in the “test phase,” UT Health San Antonio is in the process of training its medical staff for its wide deployment – and he is “very pleased” by how, in his eyes, AI has already positively transformed health care. His advice going forward: monitor AI applications to ensure their use remains safe and effective.
“As you try to cut through the hype of all the different AI tools out there, you need to focus on which ones are actually successful,” he said. “Which ones reduce physicians’ workload, improve parts of the revenue cycle, or streamline other operational duties? How was it trained? These are important questions to ask.”
For more information about AI, visit TMA’s dedicated resource center.
Alisa Pierce
Reporter, Division of Communications and Marketing
(512) 370-1469