Earlier this week, Teladoc announced that it will be expanding its collaboration with Microsoft to integrate the tech giant’s advanced artificial intelligence capabilities into Teladoc’s virtual care platform. Specifically, the goal of the expanded partnership will be to integrate Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Cognitive Services, and the Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Service, with an aim to help alleviate administrative and documentation burdens for physicians.
These tools can help automate the clinical documentation process during a physician-patient encounter, providing physicians more time with patients that would otherwise be used to write notes and document the visit. Nuance’s Dragon dictation platform, which transcribes dictation by physicians and providers to written notes that can be saved under patient records, is a common staple already embedded across many hospital systems nationwide, making further integration even easier.
Microsoft completed its acquisition of Nuance in 2021 with the goal of expanding its presence in healthcare delivery: “Nuance’s solutions work seamlessly with core healthcare systems, including longstanding relationships with Electronic Health Records (EHRs), to alleviate the burden of clinical documentation and empower providers to deliver better patient experiences. Nuance solutions are currently used by more than 55% of physicians and 75% of radiologists in the U.S., and used in 77% of U.S. hospitals.”
CEO and leader of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, posted on social media during the original acquisition period: “AI is technology’s most important priority, and healthcare is its most urgent application. Together with [Nuance], we will put advanced AI solutions into the hands of professionals to drive better decision-making and create more meaningful connections.”
The new collaboration will also entail integration of GPT4, which has stolen headlines and has become one of the most popular topics regarding generative AI in the past year. Nuance DAX Express, an AI powered clinical documentation application, will work with GPT4 through the Azure Open AI service to report encounters to other clinicians, enabling improved care coordination, follow-up, and care beyond the immediate encounter.
Dr. Vidya Raman-Tangella, Chief Medical Officer at Teladoc Health, explained: “Administrative burden and staff shortages are major reasons why clinicians are leaving the profession…We are focused on using AI to reassert and build the doctor-patient relationship at a time when technology frequently does the opposite. We are proud to partner with Microsoft and Nuance to break new ground.”
Overall, many companies are investing in similar technologies with the goal of decreasing the workload for clinicians and administrators. Clinical burnout is at an all time high, with high attrition in the medical field and a growing physician shortage. Studies have found that physicians would need almost 27 hours a day to provide optimal care, a model which is increasingly becoming unsustainable. Therefore, organizations are investing billions of dollars to help physicians reduce cumbersome workflows.
For example, earlier this year, technology and eCommerce giant Amazon announced that it would be partnering with 3M to also use conversational artificial intelligence to try and alleviate clinical documentation burdens. Amazon, although started as an eCommerce company, has made significant strides in expanding its presence into healthcare delivery, especially with its bold acquisition of primary care organization One Medical. Thus, the company is highly incentivized to make its own healthcare offerings more efficient and drive better outcomes for its patient populations.
The next 5 years will undoubtedly see immense investment by large technology giants as well as smaller startups in this space. As the technology continues to rapidly improve, healthcare organizations will increasingly have no choice but to use these novel means to augment their clinician workflows and ultimately improve patient experiences.
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