New AI Tool Streamlines Documentation and Reduces Physician Burnout
Doctors often face the challenge of completing extensive documentation outside their work hours, which takes away valuable time from their patients. According to recent studies, doctors in the United States spend almost 2 hours a day outside their regular work hours completing electronic notes. Nuance, a Massachusetts-based AI company owned by Microsoft, has introduced an AI tool called DAX Express to tackle this issue and streamline the documentation process.
DAX Express, which is powered by the latest version of AI chatbot technology from OpenAI, automatically creates secure clinical notes that are immediately available for doctors to review after each patient's visit. By using DAX more than half of the time, physicians at Cooper University Health Care in New Jersey have seen a 43% reduction in documentation time and a 21% reduction in the amount of time spent in electronic medical records.
Nuance's DAX reduces the administrative burden, helping to reduce burnout among doctors and provide more time for patient care. The tool helps doctors to focus on caring for patients and provides evidence-based support for the decisions they make. Peter Durlach, the chief strategy officer of Nuance, compares the tool to a "co-pilot" for physicians. "This technology helps improve the patient experience and the quality of care, while also making it so that clinicians no longer need to spend hours of their own time completing documentation."
The benefits of DAX extend to the patient as well. Doctors can interact with the patient and focus on their needs without being distracted by note-taking. This aligns with Cooper University Health Care's philosophy of practicing "compassion science," which emphasizes understanding what patients are experiencing. Connecting with patients improves patient outcomes and lowers overall costs, according to Dr. Anthony Mazzarelli, the CEO of Cooper, who is also an emergency physician.
Nuance's technology focuses on a core set of principles, including reliability and safety, fairness, privacy and security, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability. Their goal is to create responsible AI by design that has a beneficial impact and earns trust from society. Nuance's Durlach believes that administrative functions, such as note-taking, coding, and billing, should be the first place to implement AI because they require a lot of manual work and the cost of making a mistake does not impact patient health.
In conclusion, physicians using DAX Express can provide better patient care and spend more time with their patients. The AI tool helps doctors focus on their patients and care instead of completing documentation. This is a significant step towards improving the doctor-patient relationship and providing better medical care.
