This story is one of more than 20 health system profiles featured in the 2025 AMA Joy in Medicine® magazine (log into your AMA account to view).
Physicians enter medicine to heal, not to spend hours on paperwork. At Sutter Health, leaders recognized that inefficient workflows, increasingly heavy administrative burdens, and cognitive overload were eroding job satisfaction.
By integrating augmented intelligence (AI)-driven tools, refining team-based care models, and rethinking clinical workflows, Sutter Health is ensuring that physicians can focus more on patients while maintaining efficiency and job satisfaction.
Improving inbox management
One of the most significant pain points for physicians is managing the constant influx of patient messages and documentation.
Traditionally, inbox overload has kept doctors glued to the EHR long after clinic hours. However, Sutter Health has implemented a multipronged strategy to combat this, including AI-driven inbox management and structured team-based support that includes medical assistants (MA), nurse practitioners, registered nurses, clinical pharmacists and patient service representatives all stepping in to help.
Jill Kacher Cobb, MD, an anesthesiologist and chief wellness officer at Sutter Health, notes how these improvements have reshaped physician workflows and overall job satisfaction.
“With the advent of generative AI, multiple solutions have been launched leading to significant improvements in physician workflow and decreased work after work,” says Dr. Kacher Cobb.
A multilayered “message triage” now automatically categorizes patient inquiries, routing nonclinical questions—such as appointment rescheduling or billing—to support staff. Teams of clinical pharmacists and registered nurses also review and process medication refill requests using standardized procedures, which keeps these requests out of the in-basket entirely.
Additionally, automated response technology drafts suggested replies for routine patient messages, which physicians and other health professionals can review and customize before sending—helping streamline communications while maintaining a personalized touch.
“We’ve seen a 94% reduction in messages related to appointment cancellations and a 27% drop in scheduling request messages since expanding online scheduling options for patients,” says Veena Jones, MD, a pediatrician and vice president and chief medical information officer for Sutter Health. “That’s a huge lift off the plates of clinical care teams.”
In 2024, Sutter Health patients self-scheduled more than 4 million appointments, a nearly 20% increase from the prior year. Meanwhile, Sutter Health care teams saved about 291,000 hours of work thanks to automated registration, and more than 699,000 FastPass digital waitlist offers helped patients secure earlier appointments.
Laurie Gregg, MD, an ob-gyn and chief wellness officer for Sutter Independent Physicians, highlighted the importance of making sure any new automation or efficiency also maintained or improved patient care.
“The importance of workplace efficiency and patient satisfaction motivated Sutter Independent Physicians to incentivize their physicians to offer online patient scheduling, chart messaging and asynchronous e-visits,” says Dr. Gregg. “Recognizing that these additions could increase inbox workload, Sutter Independent Physicians developed initiatives to support team-based inbox management. Assigning a medical assistant or nurse to collaborate on inbox tasks has been transformative for many physicians.”
