WellSpan Health is taking the burden off its providers by deploying an AI-driven clinical documentation tool from Nuance.
DAX Copilot, from Microsoft’s speech recognition subsidiary Nuance Communications, integrates with Epic to draft clinical notes during visits. This process happens within seconds, the company claims, and makes the note available for review and entry into the EHR by clinicians.
The company claims the product is the only fully embedded ambient tool currently operational within Epic. It's used by more than 55 organizations, Nuance said, with the number expected to double in the coming weeks. It is the result of a larger partnership between Microsoft, Nuance and Epic aimed at accelerating the innovation of conversational, ambient and generative AI solutions for Epic users.
“We have long recognized the central importance of the quality of each patient’s experience in every interaction with our health system and especially with their primary care and other providers,” R. Hal Baker, M.D., WellSpan senior vice president and chief digital and information officer, said in a press release. “With DAX Copilot, we’re building on our continuing success with DAX and the trust that Nuance has consistently earned over time.”
DAX Copilot builds on the success of DAX Full-Service, which launched in early 2020, according to Nuance. That tool used human reviewers prior to delivering the note, whereas Copilot uses AI exclusively to draft notes. Physicians still have final sign-off on the note draft. WellSpan originally deployed Dax Full-Service in 2021 following a pilot program. Now, 82 WellSpan providers are using DAX Copilot with dozens more scheduled to go live.
A WellSpan satisfaction survey found that 94% of doctors using DAX reported it improved the quality of patient-physician interactions, while 85% said it helped them achieve better work-life balance. The survey also found 97% of patients said doctors that used the system were more focused, personable and engaged during visits.
The latest deployment aligns with WellSpan’s commitment to empowering clinicians and "providing its clinicians with innovations that allow them to commit their full time and attention to providing the best patient care which is why they all went to medical school,” Robert Dahdah, corporate vice president of global health and life sciences at Microsoft, said in the announcement.
Friday, Nuance and Providence also announced they are expanding their collaboration to rapidly scale and increase the capabilities of existing solutions at Providence. Together, they will focus on areas like improving operational efficiency, accelerating in-house solutions development, advancing clinical research using generative AI, improving patient and provider experiences and expanding industry collaboration.