Kansas Health System Rolling Out AI-Powered Documentation Tool
To combat provider burnout from increasing documentation burdens, the University of Kansas Health System is rolling out an artificial intelligence-powered medical documentation tool from a company called Abridge.
Pittsburgh-based Abridge said its technology identifies more than 90 percent of the key points from provider-patient conversations and generates summaries in the formats preferred by clinicians. The company said it keeps the provider in the loop, enhancing their productivity, but never replacing their judgment. “The core technology acts as an intelligent copilot, producing organized drafts and providing interactive tools to accelerate the editing process, ensuring that providers get off to a running start as soon as a visit concludes. The technology seamlessly integrates with healthcare software, including Epic, to simplify and streamline documentation,” the company said.
At the University of Kansas Health System, providers spend 130 minutes per day outside of work hours. The new partnership has the potential to serve and support more than 1,500 practicing physicians across the system’s more than 140 locations, as well as additional clinicians in a phased rollout.
“With Abridge, we have found a powerful solution that addresses the biggest challenge facing our providers — excessive time spent on documentation including non-traditional hours,” said Gregory Ator, M.D., chief medical information officer at the University of Kansas Health System, in a statement. “This cutting-edge technology will not only close the documentation cycle in real-time, but also improve the overall quality and consistency of our clinical notes. Our partnership with Abridge represents a major step forward in reducing burnout, improving provider satisfaction, and ultimately enhancing the delivery of patient care.”
Founded in 2018, Abridge has raised $27 million from investors including Union Square Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Wittington Ventures. The company said it has already helped more than 2,000 clinicians and served more than 200,000 patients.
Shiv Rao, M.D., co-founded Abridge with Florian Metze, Ph.D., a research professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Language Technologies Institute, and Sandeep Konam, a former master’s student in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon. Rao was previously an executive vice president at UPMC Enterprises, where he managed the provider-facing portfolio of technology investments and R&D. He is also a faculty member and practicing cardiologist in UPMC’s Heart and Vascular Institute.
