Kaiser partners with Abridge on AI-enabled clinical documentation
The health system has invested in automating documentation, but AI chief tells WSJ he's not comfortable using AI for clinical decision-making.
Photo: Sundry Photography/Getty Images
Kaiser Permanente's Dr. Daniel Yang, who is vice president of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published yesterday that he wouldn't feel comfortable using AI to automate clinical decision making in diagnosis or treatment.
Infrastructure for AI has not kept up with development, Yang said. The haves - the large health systems such as Kaiser, have the scale for AI implementation while smaller, rural health systems do not have the same advantages, he told WSJ.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Kaiser is using AI to its fullest advantage in a large implementation of AI scribe and also in partnership with Abridge for generative AI clinical documentation.
Last week Kaiser announced that Abridge is now available at its 40 hospitals and more than 600 medical offices in eight states and the District of Columbia.
The tool is powered by ambient listening technology that captures clinical notes so that physicians spend more time with patients than on documentation.
The assisted clinical-documentation tool uses AI to summarize relevant medical information from spoken, natural conversations. The tool requires patient consent, and doctors and clinicians review the clinical notes before entering them into a patient's medical record.
THE LARGER TREND
Kaiser Permanente announced the system-wide implementation after almost a year of testing and evaluation.
Abridge is compliant with state and federal privacy laws, and it processes and encrypts data used by the tool to protect patient privacy. Its AI technology platform includes support for more than 14 languages and over 50 medical specialties.
ON THE RECORD
"For the past year, Kaiser Permanente has worked with Abridge on the largest implementation to date of the safe and effective use of ambient listening technology in the United States," said Desiree Gandrup-Dupre, senior vice president of Care Delivery Technology Services at Kaiser Permanente.
"The Abridge technology was implemented after careful review and testing in our market and was very well received by both our patients and our clinicians," said Dr. Linda Tolbert, executive medical director, Washington Permanente Medical Group. "It allows doctors and other clinicians to have more meaningful interactions with patients by devoting their full attention to patient care without the distraction of typing."
The HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum is scheduled to take place September 5-6 in Boston. Learn more and register.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
