EHR vendors Epic Systems, Oracle Health and Meditech are prioritizing the integration of artificial intelligence into their software in 2024 as they look to boost clinical efficiency for healthcare providers.
Here is an overview of what each vendor has in store for 2024:
Epic Systems
Epic is dedicated to enhancing clinical efficiency by harnessing the capabilities of generative AI. The EHR's projects focus on summarizing information from patient charts, allowing clinicians to stay updated on their patients.
Epic is also developing easy-to-use builder tools that empower users to create unique experiences in MyChart with minimal IT involvement. Additionally, the integration of patient satisfaction data within the EHR will aim to deliver a more seamless and personalized healthcare journey.
In terms of operational efficiency, Epic is actively engaged in projects that provide insights for data-driven staffing decisions. The focus extends to optimizing the utilization of operating rooms, infusion schedules and hospital beds to enhance the flow of patients through various care settings efficiently.
Epic is set to roll out the "Best Care Choices for My Patient" initiative in 2024, which aims to assist physicians in selecting the most appropriate treatment for their patients by bringing evidence-based medicine to the point of care. The EHR is also leveraging generative AI to make research more intuitive, transforming conversational prompts into data queries. This functionality, initially available for Cosmos data, will soon extend to local data, providing healthcare professionals with valuable insights.
Oracle Health
Oracle's healthcare strategy for 2024 revolves around the Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant, an AI tool designed to actively engage in patient interactions. The ultimate goal for this tool is not just process streamlining, but the complete elimination of time-consuming scribing tasks. Oracle envisions an imminent future where AI automates entire documentation processes, suggesting next steps such as orders, prescriptions and follow-up appointments.
In the realm of cloud computing and data management, Oracle aims to leverage its expertise to empower healthcare providers and networks, especially in the context of population health. The objective is to enhance patient care while concurrently reducing the overall cost of healthcare delivery, a goal set forth by Mike Sicilia, executive vice president of Oracle Global Industries.
As part of its strategy, Oracle is actively developing a next-generation, cloud-based EHR system, scheduled for release in 2024. With a modular design that ensures compatibility with existing EHR technologies, this approach eliminates the need for re-implementation processes.
Oracle is also planning to create an open, connected ecosystem by making more of their application programming interfaces public. This move, according to the company, empowers partners, customers and third-party vendors to create advanced customizations, ultimately saving time, enhancing care decisions and eliminating unnecessary cycles.
Meditech
In 2024, Meditech is set to introduce advanced search and summarization capabilities powered by Google Health into its Expanse EHR. This move will bring automated clinical documentation generative AI functionality to early adopters and broaden Meditech's offerings in ambient listening and conversational AI. The integration of these technologies aims to enhance the overall efficiency of the Expanse EHR.
Meditech is also optimizing its EHR system by collaborating with clients to improve efficiency. The company will leverage tools such as surveillance, patient registries, business and clinical analytics, the Traverse Interoperability suite, and evidence-based toolkits to help organizations achieve heightened safety, operational efficiency, and increased user satisfaction.
In the realm of interoperability, Meditech plans to advocate for intelligent interoperability by adopting HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources guidelines. The company will also support customers in national health exchange efforts like TEFCA. Additionally, Meditech will collaborate with the Meditech Alliance and Greenfield Workspace programs to enable others to leverage the Expanse platform as an ecosystem of innovation through open APIs.
With a focus on growth, Meditech aims to expand its customer base by transitioning legacy platforms to Expanse and acquiring new ones. The upcoming year will witness the introduction of several new features and functionalities, including the cutting-edge Expanse Pathology solution, ambient listening integration across all clinician interfaces, an expanded array of mental healthcare offerings and the shift of its patient portal to the cloud. Meditech is also on the verge of introducing new AI integrations, including a feature allowing providers to pose complex questions about a patient's history.