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Elsevier
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Article

Advancing clinical decision-making with generative AI for precise, evidence-based insights

11 March 2025

Physicians across specialties face increasing challenges in managing complex patient cases, staying current with rapidly expanding medical knowledge, and making confident clinical decisions under time constraints. A new generation of tools, powered by generative artificial intelligence (generative AI), is emerging to support physicians in navigating these demands.

Generative AI-enabled search tools represent a significant step forward in helping physicians optimize decision-making and focus on delivering evidence-based insights. These tools are designed to address the challenges of synthesizing complex information and tailoring insights to specific patient scenarios, all while complementing physicians' expertise.

Understanding the complexity of clinical decision-making

Physicians manage an increasingly diverse patient population with complex needs. For instance, a patient might present with diabetes, hypertension, and early-stage kidney failure, requiring a treatment plan that accounts for all three conditions while keeping up with the latest guidelines and evidence. Each decision must balance multiple factors, including medication side effects, patient preferences, and comorbid conditions.

This complexity is compounded by the rapid expansion of medical knowledge. New research, treatment protocols, and evidence-based guidelines emerge at an unprecedented rate. According to estimates, the volume of medical knowledge is now doubling approximately every 73 days opens in new tab/window. Staying current under these circumstances isn’t just difficult—it’s nearly impossible without effective tools.

From traditional search to generative AI-enabled insights

Traditional search engines have long been a common resource for physicians seeking medical information. While they provide a starting point, their approach is often focused on individual diseases or medications, requiring physicians to manually piece together information from separate sources. For example, a search for “managing diabetes and CKD with hyperkalemia” might yield separate articles on diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hyperkalemia, without connecting the dots between them.

This keyword-based approach can be time-intensive and less effective for managing complex cases involving comorbidities. Physicians often need to integrate fragmented insights themselves, which can slow down decision-making, add a cognitive burden and delay treatment.

How generative AI-enabled tools support physicians

Generative AI-enabled tools address these challenges by providing a smarter, more integrated approach to information retrieval. These tools act as a support system, helping physicians deliver timely, evidence-based insights that are personalized to the patient’s needs.

Understanding Intent: Generative AI-powered tools interpret the intent behind a query, delivering relevant and actionable responses. Instead of offering a long list of articles, they synthesize trusted evidence and present cohesive answers to complex queries.

Managing Comorbidities: When a patient presents with overlapping conditions, generative AI tools connect insights from multiple evidence-based sources, delivering recommendations tailored to the unique combination of conditions.

Contextualized Insights: Generative AI-enabled tools integrate individual factors such as age, medical history, and treatment goals, ensuring insights are contextualized and actionable.

Saving Time: By reducing the time spent searching through various sources of information, generative AI tools free up valuable time, allowing physicians to focus on patient care.

Comparing Traditional and Generative AI-Enabled Search The difference between traditional and generative AI-enabled search tools becomes clear with a side-by-side comparison:

Traditional Search

Generative AI-Enabled Search

Query Method

Keyword-dependent

Intent-based, understanding complex questions

Response Relevance

General results

Specific, focused answers synthesized from evidence

Support for Comorbidities

Limited; physicians connect the dots

Integrates evidence across conditions

Search Time

Lengthy; requires manual sorting

Immediate, delivering actionable insights

Contextual Awareness

Minimal; static results

Considers patient and clinical context for tailored advice

Why physicians need generative AI now

Physicians routinely face mounting pressures, from growing patient complexity to the rapid acceleration of medical knowledge. Generative AI-enabled tools are becoming essential resources for today’s clinicians. These tools bridge knowledge gaps, cut through the overwhelming amount of information, and support faster, more personalized care.

By equipping physicians with advanced generative AI-powered decision-making support, clinicians can deliver evidence-based insights that improve care quality and streamline workflows. For patients with complex needs, this could mean faster diagnoses, more effective treatment plans, and better outcomes overall.

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