“I Got My Evenings Back”: Reducing Physician Stress with Empathia
By: Empathia Editorial Team
April 15, 2025
For Dr. Faraz Ghoddusi, family medicine is about more than diagnoses and prescriptions, it’s about connection. But like many physicians, he found that documentation was getting in the way.
“Before Empathia, I was finishing charts after dinner. Now, my notes are ready before I walk into the next room.”
This is how Empathia AI is helping Dr. Ghoddusi and family physicians like him reduce documentation stress and get their evenings back.
👨⚕️ Meet Dr. Faraz Ghoddusi
Dr. Ghoddusi is no stranger to clinical innovation. Formerly the CMIO of the USAF Medical Group and Associate CHIO at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), he now serves as Executive Director of Healthy Oregon, a digital health nonprofit. With joint faculty appointments in Clinical Informatics, Epidemiology, and Family Medicine at OHSU, he combines IT and patient care to drive health equity.
🏥 The Challenge: Complex Visits, Limited Time
In family medicine, every day brings variety. New patients with long histories, follow-ups with evolving conditions, and unexpected tangents during even routine visits.
Dr. Ghoddusi needed a tool that could:
Compile patient histories so he could focus on the encounter
Assemble differentials quickly for problem-based visits
Capture “one-off” comments that often go undocumented
Keep documentation moving without slowing him down
💡 The Solution: Empathia AI
Empathia AI acts as an intelligent, invisible assistant. Here’s how Dr. Ghoddusi uses it:
✅ 1. Pre-visit History Compilation
For new patients, Empathia compiles past medical, surgical, and family histories, so he walks in prepared, without toggling between tabs.
✅ 2. Real-time Note Generation
While he speaks with patients, Empathia tracks the encounter, flagging symptoms and building a problem-focused note as the visit unfolds.
✅ 3. Differential Diagnosis Support
For complex or acute visits, the tool helps assemble a clinical differential with supporting rationale, saving cognitive effort and charting time.
✅ 4. One-Off Topic Capture
Patients often bring up issues “on the way out.” Empathia records and tags those quick discussions so they aren’t forgotten and makes it easy to follow up later.
✅ 5. Language Translation
In multilingual encounters, Empathia supports translation mid-visit, helping bridge gaps when patients shift into their native language. “It’s incredibly helpful when both of us are working through a second language,” he notes.
✅ 6. Instant EMR-Ready Output
By the time he finishes the visit, the note is ready. Empathia’s text output is optimized for easy copy/paste into his EMR, reducing reformatting and retyping.
📊 The Results: Less Stress, More Balance
In February 2025, physicians using Empathia saved an average of 29 hours per month. For Dr. Ghoddusi, that means:
Spending more time with patients
Finishing documentation during clinic hours
Logging off earlier—and recharging for the next day
“Empathia doesn’t just help me chart faster, it helps me practice better.”
🎯 Family Medicine, Simplified
Empathia was built with primary care in mind. Whether you’re juggling newborns, chronic disease management, or complex social histories, the AI adapts to your documentation style in just a few uses.
From pre-visit prep to post-visit handouts, it’s your full-circle charting assistant.
🚀 Ready to Reclaim Your Time?
💬 Book a 15-minute onboarding and get started today.
