News | Teleradiology | April 20, 2020

Nuance Launches Dragon Ambient eXperience for Telehealth

Ambient clinical intelligence solution helps clinicians reduce administrative burden, increase patient throughput, and document care from anywhere

#COVID19 #Coronavirus #2019nCoV #Wuhanvirus #SARScov2 Ambient clinical intelligence solution helps clinicians reduce administrative burden, increase patient throughput, and document care from anywhere

April 20, 2020 — Nuance Communications, Inc. announced the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) solution for telehealth in response to the overwhelming increase in virtual visits sparked by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Working in tandem with electronic health record (EHR) systems, the Nuance DAX solution revolutionizes the physician-patient experience by securely capturing and contextualizing physician-patient conversations and powering virtual exams where clinical documentation writes itself. With the Nuance DAX solution, physicians can be onboarded and trained remotely, capture patient encounters securely, and automatically create clinical notes as a part of their telehealth visits.

As patients and providers are instructed to interact remotely as often as practical and appropriate, the shift in acceptance, adoption, and use of telehealth technologies is significant. Less than a year ago, just 10 percent of consumers used telehealth instead of an in-person doctor's office visit. Research firms such as Forrester Research predict that virtual visits in the U.S. alone are expected to exceed 1 billion in 2020, primarily because of COVID-19.

Innovated by Nuance and Microsoft, the Nuance DAX solution is built on decades of healthcare experience, in-depth research investments in conversational AI, and enterprise-focused cloud services. Nuance DAX leverages and extends the proven power of Nuance Dragon Medical, already relied upon by over 500,000 physicians globally, with the latest advancements in ambient sensing technology and AI to create a fully voice-enabled and ambient exam environment for both physical and virtual visits.

Yaa Kumah-Crystal, M.D., MPH, MS, assistant professor of biomedical informatics and pediatric endocrinology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said, "Telehealth has emerged in recent weeks as a vital lifeline for our patients and providers alike. The Nuance DAX solution for telehealth can alleviate the administrative burdens as we care for patients both in clinical settings and remotely. Because the clinical documentation essentially writes itself, Nuance DAX can allow providers to focus on the patient, save time, and comprehensively document and code patient care. Technology like this empowers providers to fully engage with their patients through the new medium of telehealth."

The Nuance DAX solution securely listens to the physician-patient encounter and documents care automatically across any setting, physical or virtual, and now supports primary care, urgent care, in addition to a rapidly expanding list of ambulatory specialties. A quality review process checks notes for final accuracy and completeness before provider approval and signature directly in the EHR. Early adopters of Nuance DAX, such as EmergeOrtho, Nebraska Medicine, Novant Health, and Rush University Medical Center, are seeing significant benefits, including increased efficiency and patient throughput, higher satisfaction scores, and reduced provider burnout. Examples of outcomes include a 20 percent increase in patient throughput, 50-75 percent reduction in clinical documentation time, 88 percent increase in provider satisfaction scores for clinical documentation, and patient consent rates of over 90 percent.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the 'fast-forward' button on the wholesale embracement of telehealth, creating an opportunity for providers to engage with patients no matter what they're facing, and no matter where they are. Since the Nuance DAX solution works with any telehealth platform via a smartphone, we didn't spend extra time learning about new technology. Instead, we pivoted quickly to deliver the best patient care possible in this new virtual world. Technology like this is life-changing," said William Silver, M.D., medical director, Triangle Region EmergeOrtho.

"Making it easier to document patient care from virtually anywhere has been our mission for decades, and it's even more important today," said Joe Petro, CTO, Nuance. "We are committed to helping our customers who are literally on the front lines of a global effort to battle a pandemic and care for patients. That means accelerating innovation – with the use of Nuance DAX for telehealth – is essential to meet these demands now and as we eventually reach a new normal."

For more information: www.nuance.com. Learn how Nuance is partnering with healthcare customers to respond to COVID-19 together here.