Northwestern Medicine deploys DAX Copilot embedded in Epic within its enterprise to improve patient and physician experiences

Widespread rollout of DAX Copilot aligns with the health system’s mission to identify innovations that improve health outcomes and experiences for patients.

BURLINGTON, Mass., Aug. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Nuance Communications, a Microsoft company, announced Thursday that Northwestern Medicine has selected Dragon^® Ambient eXperience^™ (DAX^™) Copilot embedded in Epic as its ambient voice solution and is deploying it within its enterprise. Amplified by the power and scale of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, DAX Copilot is enabling physicians at Northwestern Medicine to turn their conversations with patients into a powerful productivity tool to reduce administrative burdens associated with clinical documentation and help improve overall patient experiences.

In 2023, approximately 53% of physicians reported feeling burned out (The Institute for Functional Medicine). Additionally, research from the KLAS Arch Collaborative found that physicians at academic medical centers are the second-most burned out, as these organizations have more complex workflows that increase stress and after-hours documentation (Understanding & Addressing Trends in Physician & Nurse Burnout 2024). DAX Copilot allows Northwestern Medicine physicians to automate clinical documentation and streamline repetitive, time-consuming tasks. This solution aligns with the health system’s commitment to leveraging innovative technologies to support its academic, research and administrative functions.

Physicians using DAX Copilot benefit from several key outcomes, as validated with system use data, including:

• Improved patient access to care. Physicians using DAX Copilot at Northwestern Medicine in at least 50% of encounters are seeing an additional 11.3 patients per month on average.
• Boosted physician satisfaction by alleviating administrative burdens. For example, DAX Copilot users at Northwestern Medicine saw a 24% decrease of time in notes and a 17% decrease in “pajama time,” or late-night administrative tasks, on average.
• Improved financial outcomes with accurate clinical documentation, improved retention, and additional revenue from increased throughput and incremental services. For example, Northwestern Medicine DAX Copilot users have realized higher Level of Service coding.

“We are already seeing the significant benefits of DAX Copilot as it is materially enhancing our ability to provide exceptional patient care by reducing the administrative burden on our physicians,” said Doug King, senior vice president and chief information officer of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. 

“Northwestern Medicine is committed to providing a superior work environment that promotes wellbeing, and implementing DAX Copilot will allow our physicians to spend more quality time with our patients, focusing on their needs rather than on paperwork and data entry,” said Gaurava Agarwal, MD, chief wellness executive of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare. “This will improve the overall patient experience while enhancing the wellbeing of our physicians, enabling them to deliver care more effectively and with greater satisfaction.”

“We are very proud that Northwestern Medicine has selected DAX Copilot embedded in Epic as its enterprise-wide ambient voice solution to help its physicians reduce burnout driven by administrative demands,” said Peter Durlach, corporate vice president, chief strategy officer of Microsoft Health & Life Sciences. “The widespread implementation of DAX Copilot is also a great example of Northwestern Medicine’s commitment to innovation and excellence in patient care.”

Part of a proven and extensible platform, DAX Copilot leverages health systems’ existing investments in the trusted family of Nuance Dragon Medical solutions while enabling them to adopt advanced AI-powered solutions at scale. Ranked Best in KLAS for four consecutive years, Dragon^® Medical One is a documentation workflow assistant used by more than 600,000 clinicians worldwide to access clinical information and capture the patient story efficiently and securely using the power of their voices.

More information about DAX Copilot is available at https://www.nuance.com/DAXCopilot.

About Nuance Communications

Nuance Communications is a technology pioneer with market leadership in conversational, ambient and generative AI. A full-service partner trusted by 77% of U.S. hospitals and more than 75% of Fortune 100 companies worldwide, Nuance creates intuitive solutions that amplify people’s ability to help others. Nuance is a Microsoft company.

Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Epic is a registered trademark of Epic Systems Corporation.

About Northwestern Medicine

To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, please visit NM.org.

Media Contacts
Microsoft Media Relations: WE Communications for Microsoft, (425) 638-7777, rapidresponse@we-worldwide.com
Northwestern Medicine: Chris King, chief media relations executive, (312) 926-0960, christopher.king@nm.org

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SOURCE Nuance Communications, Inc.