Stanford (Calif.) Health Care is collaborating with Microsoft and Epic to develop an AI tool for ambient listening in clinical settings to streamline nursing documentation.
"When Microsoft approached us for the opportunity to partner with Epic to improve the work of nursing, we jumped right in," Gretchen Brown, MSN, RN, chief nursing information officer at Stanford Health Care, told Becker's. "As a Magnet facility, that's what we should be doing. We should be leaning in and helping to develop with the resources that we have to better the experience for nurses."
The initiative aims to reduce the time nurses spend on documentation and, according to Ms. Brown, enable clinicians to reconnect with why they entered healthcare: focusing on meaningful connections with patients.
The project is in its early stages and is set to go live in two units at Stanford.
"We're going live with a smaller subset of users, really making sure we've sorted out all the glitches, the workflow implications and the patient impacts," Ms. Brown said.
In the project, Stanford nurses will take on a new role in development, an opportunity Ms. Brown said is rare for many nurses.
"It's a nice opportunity for the staff; not a lot of nurses get to do development," she said. "Our broader population of nurses really loves to hear from their internal experts, so from a change management and adoption perspective, it's a win."
Stanford will monitor data capture and track key performance indicators before rolling out the tool more broadly.
"We have our nursing efficiency data, which we will use as a benchmark," Ms. Brown said. "We also do extensive internal surveying and time-and-motion studies to make sure we understand its application and impact on our environment. We will survey patients involved to capture their perspectives."
The goal is to improve efficiency and patient care without adding to the nursing burden, ensuring AI tools complement rather than replace human expertise.
According to Ms. Brown, Stanford is taking a thoughtful, methodical approach to implementing AI tools, prioritizing safety and collaboration across clinical disciplines. The process includes a "human-in-the-loop" system, ensuring that AI functions as a supportive tool rather than an autonomous one. For instance, when AI captures ambient information to input into electronic health records, a clinician is always present to confirm the data's accuracy and intent before finalization.
"You've seen in the media some nurses' reactions at different organizations about AI, but as a Magnet facility, we have a robust shared leadership structure, including councils where we bring nurses together every month to discuss improvements, changes and opportunities," Ms. Brown said. "Having a venue where nurses can share their experiences, both positive and negative, is key. That's the beauty of shared leadership. We have AI and algorithms in our environment now, and we make sure that we give nurses a voice and an opportunity to discuss them."