Nuance launches automated AI-powered clinical documentation

Nuance Healthcare has announced the US launch of Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Express, offering AI-powered automated clinical documentation.

The OpenAI-powered app from the Microsoft subsidiary instantly transcribes patient notes during patient visits, using ambient voice technology and the latest AI technology, promising to automate workflows and significantly reduce administrative burden on clinicians.

The increased workload resulting from clinicians having to key notes from patient consultations into Electronic Medical Records is said to be one of the major causes of clinician burn-out and dissatisfaction in the US in particular.

The promise of ambient voice is to automate note taking and recording and remove much of the burden of clinical documentation.

The new app is said to combine proven conversational and ambient AI with advanced reasoning and natural language capabilities, enabling accurate automated clinical documentation at scale.

Microsoft, which completed its $16 billion acquisition of Nuance in March 2022 after first confirming its plans to do so in April 2021, has also heavily invested in OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, who’s latest GPT-4 technology is embedded into DAX Express.

Nuance says DAX Express will extend the proven Dragon Medical portfolio of solutions, and further build on the DAX ambient solution first launched in the US in 2020. The solution has yet to be launched outside the US.

In a press release, Nuance said the launch of DAX Express represents the next breakthrough for healthcare and a major milestone in automating clinical documentation at scale, enabling them to reduce time on paperwork and spend more time taking care of patients.

Nuance says that this can help relieve workforce burnout – with US physicians reporting up to 70% reduction in feelings of burnout and fatigue.

Best known for Dragon Medical One, Nuance has long been at the forefront of innovating conversational and ambient AI in healthcare. The company has deep expertise in large language models, natural language processing and clinical workflows.

DAX Express enables healthcare organisations to adopt at scale a new generation of AI-powered solutions, leveraging their existing investments in trusted Nuance solutions.

For the more than 550,000 Dragon Medical users, DAX Express automatically and securely creates draft clinical notes in seconds, available immediately for clinical review and completion, after each patient visit in the exam room or via telehealth patient conversations.

Clinicians will benefit from the seamless capabilities of Dragon Medical One, DAX Express, and DAX, which are said to be tightly integrated into the electronic medical record.