Motivational interviewing skills practice enhanced with artificial intelligence: ReadMI.

BACKGROUND: Finding time in the medical curriculum to focus on motivational interviewing (MI) training is a challenge in many medical schools. We developed a software-based training tool, "Real-time Assessment of Dialogue in Motivational Interviewing" (ReadMI), that aims to advance the skill acquisition of medical students as they learn the MI approach. This human-artificial intelligence teaming may help reduce the cognitive load on a training facilitator. METHODS: During their Family Medicine clerkship, 125 third-year medical students were scheduled in pairs to participate in a 90-minute MI training session, with each student doing two role-plays as the physician. Intervention group students received both facilitator feedback and ReadMI metrics after their first role-play, while control group students received only facilitator feedback. RESULTS: While students in both conditions improved their MI approach from the first to the second role-play, those in the intervention condition used significantly more open-ended questions, fewer closed-ended questions, and had a higher ratio of open to closed questions. CONCLUSION: MI skills practice can be gained with a relatively small investment of student time, and artificial intelligence can be utilized both for the measurement of MI skill acquisition and as an instructional aid.

PRESTO: Promoting Engagement for the Safe Tapering of Opioids.

ABSTRACT: Twenty-four percent of all U.S. opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid. Changing prescribing practices is considered a key step in reducing opioid overdoses. Primary care providers (PCPs) commonly lack the patient engagement skills needed to address patient resistance to taper or end opioid prescriptions. We developed and evaluated a protocol aimed at improving PCP opioid-prescribing patterns and modeled on the evidence-based Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) approach. We conducted a time series trial comparing provider opioid prescribing 8 months before and 8 months after training with the PRomoting Engagement for Safe Tapering of Opioids (PRESTO) protocol. The 148 Ohio PCPs who completed PRESTO training gained confidence in their ability to engage their patients on the topics of opioid overdose risk and potential opioid tapering. Promoting Engagement for Safe Tapering of Opioids participants had decreased opioid-prescribing over time, but this was not significantly different from Ohio PCPs who had not received PRESTO training. Participants completing PRESTO training had small, but significant increased buprenorphine prescribing over time compared with Ohio PCPs who had not received PRESTO training. The PRESTO approach and opioid risk pyramid warrant further study and validation.

Social Accountability and Regional Health Priorities in Medical Education.

Social accountability in medical education refers to the commitment of medical schools to address priority health concerns of the community. Over a 2-year period, 200 Family Medicine clerkship students ranked the topics most emphasized in the first 2 years of medical school. These rankings did not align with the community health priorities of the region in which the medical school is located. While the basic science and introductory clinical material covered early in medical school is necessary, our data suggest that emphasizing the implications of this foundational curricula for addressing the regions' health priorities is worthy of greater consideration.

An Interactive Game with Virtual Reality Immersion to Improve Cultural Sensitivity in Health Care.

Purpose: Biased perceptions of individuals who are not part of one's in-groups tend to be negative and habitual. Because health care professionals are no less susceptible to biases than are others, the adverse impact of biases on marginalized populations in health care warrants continued attention and amelioration. Method: Two characters, a Syrian refugee with limited English proficiency and a black pregnant woman with a history of opioid use disorder, were developed for an online training simulation that includes an interactive life course experience focused on social determinants of health, and a clinical encounter in a community health center utilizing virtual reality immersion. Pre- and post-survey data were obtained from 158 health professionals who completed the simulation. Results: Post-simulation data indicated increased feelings of compassion toward the patient and decreased expectations about how difficult future encounters with the patient would be. With respect to attribution, after the simulation participants were less inclined to view the patient as primarily responsible for their situation, suggesting less impact of the fundamental attribution error. Conclusion: This training simulation aimed to utilize components of evidence-based prejudice habit breaking interventions, such as learning more about an individual's life experience to help minimize filling in gaps with stereotyped assumptions. Although training simulations cannot fully replicate or replace the advantages that come with real-world experience, they can heighten awareness in the increase of increasing the cultural sensitivity of clinicians in health care professions for improving health equity.