Epic is tapping into generative AI to roll out more tools to help hospitals and health systems save time on documentation, as well as coding and billing processes.
On April 17, Epic said it would work with Microsoft to develop and integrate generative AI into its EHR software.
The two have been training Microsoft's Azure OpenAI on a large collection of information so it can asynchronously draft responses to patient messages for providers.
This integration will allow Azure OpenAI to provide draft messages to providers, who can then review the message and make any modifications before it is sent to a patient.
The aim of the integration is to reduce the documentation burden on providers that significantly grew during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tool is already being piloted by health systems such as UC San Diego Health; Madison, Wis.-based UW Health; Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Health Care; and Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health.
The EHR vendor then expanded on its partnership with Microsoft on Aug. 22, stating that it would integrate conversational, ambient and generative AI technologies into its entire ecosystem.
The new offerings included an AI-assisted Epic In Basket that will use suggested text and rapid review with in-context summaries to help support faster documentation; embedding Nuance's Dragon Ambient eXperience Express AI technology into its Epic Hyperdrive platform and Haiku mobile application; an AI-powered solution that provides medical coding staff with suggestions based on clinical documentation; and using generative AI exploration for some of its users via SlicerDicer.
The company said these moves were as it looks to integrate more Azure OpenAI Service and Nuance ambient technologies into its softwares.