WellSpan Health expands AI-powered clinical documentation applications at scale

Nuance on Wednesday that announced that York, Pennsylvania-based WellSpan Health and more than 60 additional healthcare organizations are in the process of implementing DAX Copilot embedded within Epic electronic health records.

WHY IT MATTERS

DAX Copilot is currently the only fully embedded ambient documentation tool currently operational within Epic electronic health records and has more than 55 healthcare organizations using it, Nuance said in the announcement.

In 2020, WellSpan first piloted Nuance’s automated clinical documentation tools to reduce administrative workloads that lead to physician burnout, according to the company. Then, three years ago, the health system expanded Nuance Dax to primary care and a number of specialties. 

Nuance noted in the statement that WellSpan conducted a satisfaction survey that found that 94% of physicians using DAX reported that it improved the quality of patient-physician interactions and 85% said that reduced documentation workloads helped them achieve better work-life balance.

“With DAX Copilot, we’re building on our continuing success with DAX and the trust that Nuance has consistently earned over time by giving our clinicians additional state-of-the-art tools to lessen administrative burdens, reduce the time needed to complete documentation, enhance their ability to deliver high-quality personalized care and expand access to care,” said Dr. Hal Baker, WellSpan chief digital information officer, in a statement.

“Patients also appreciate the benefits of DAX Copilot knowing that they have their doctor’s full and undivided attention during their visits,” he said.

THE LARGER TREND

Epic initially announced that it would integrate Nuance’s AI-powered voice and language virtual assistant to streamline clinical workflows about six years ago.

In June 2023, Epic and Nuance expanded the integration to include GPT4-powered ambient documentation.

“This collaboration will allow our physicians to focus more completely on the care and treatment of their patients while the AI works behind the scenes to document the encounter, allowing people and technology to each do what they do best without delays,” said Baker at the time.

Since then, DAX Copilot has become even further embedded into Epic.

This past October, WellSpan’s chief information and digital officer described how the health system’s Epic-linked telehealth platform has delivered clinical and operational ROI.

ON THE RECORD

“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,” said Baker said in today’s announcement. 

“WellSpan Health’s deployment of DAX Copilot embedded in Epic advances its long-standing commitment to empower its clinicians with solutions to provide top-quality care and excellent patient experiences,” added Robert Dahdah, corporate vice president, partner and sales, of Microsoft Health and Life Sciences. 

“It also builds on WellSpan’s mission to improve health through exceptional care for all by 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,” he said.

Andrea Fox is senior editor of Healthcare IT News.
Email: afox@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.