More UConn Health providers are using — and liking — the artificial intelligence transcription tool DAX™ (Dragon Ambient eXperience) Ambient Listening to capture their patient interactions and generate encounter notes in Epic in near real time.

“We’re deploying it for our providers to allow them to have a phone in the patient’s exam room while they’re doing their visit,” says Ingrid Napoletano, UConn Health’s associate vice president for information technology clinical systems. “Then they can just listen to their patient, look at them, and the system is actually using generative AI to generate the note for them.”

Providers only use the tool if the patient gives permission.

Dr. Lenora Williams, who sees OB-GYN patients in UConn Health’s Storrs office, was among the first providers to try it.

“Being fairly confident that the most important aspects of the encounter will be accurately documented allows me to be more attentive and takes the pressure off of documenting right away,” Williams says. “DAX is most efficient with problem visits, which are the ones that typically require more comprehensive documentation.”

Starting with internal medicine, dermatology and Mohs surgery, orthopedics, comprehensive spine, and neurosurgery, UConn Health is expanding the use of the DAX technology throughout the outpatient practices this year, then bringing it to the emergency department and inpatient settings next year. It will become the first AI solution UConn Health deploys across the entire clinical enterprise.

“It really is to help reduce burnout for the providers, also to increase the engagement between the patient and the provider,” Napoletano says. “And also, we’re seeing, because of the efficiencies, that providers are actually able to see more patients.”

The AI-generated notes form in the electronic medical record without the providers having to type anything; then they can go into the record to customize and edit their notes.

“It’s much easier for me to edit it than it is for me to come up with it from scratch and write the whole thing out, so it definitely saves me time,” says Dr. Darlene Oksanen, primary care physician and another early adopter. “I would say, 90% of the time I’m getting out of clinic when I can. … I noticed a big improvement. And I can spend more time on the important parts of the note, which are basically the assessment and plan and my thought process, rather than just writing down history.”

Another option for providers is “monologue mode,” which allows them to record parts or all of a note before or after the appointment. This enhanced form of dictation is effective for pre-visit planning or post-encounter summaries, allowing providers to speak naturally and still benefit from ambient documentation.

Oksanen says it helps her have a better personal connection during patient interactions and improves her train of thought.

“Surprisingly, I realized after using DAX how much of the small complaints that my patients were bringing in with them I wasn’t really capturing in my note just because of time,” she says.

Williams estimates the tool, which some providers also refer to as DAX Copilot, saves her up to 30 minutes a day finishing notes, and when she does have a backlog, the tool helps her get caught up more quickly.

“As a tool to improve patient care, assist with efficiency, and improve work-life balance, it is a welcomed and appreciated start,” Williams says.

Rave Reviews

Halfway through a 90-day pilot launched in the spring, UConn Health surveyed the 30 physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who’d been trying it. The following comments are from their responses:

• “It allows me to look at patients and build rapport because I am not looking at the computer. I have definitely done less charting at home and almost always finish my notes before I leave clinic.”
• “I spend more time caring for my patients and addressing paperwork rather than writing notes, I also spend more time teaching students and residents instead of writing my notes.”
• “It greatly reduces my burnout. It greatly increases my job satisfaction. I really cannot imagine my life without it now.”
• “Notes are well done. Concise. Very little needs to be edited when I read them at the end of the day. probably saves about 20 min of documenting at the end of the day, which I can use to do other inbox tasks.”
• “The accuracy is invaluable. It catches the multiple things that you talk to a patient about and organizes them by problems.”
• “This is a blessing, I have actually time to connect with the patients without taking my attention from them. The documentation is rich, full of important patient details. My notes are already complex with a lot of technical data to review, so DAX is helping dramatically.”
• “I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and that I can connect more fully with my patients during the visits. I can also complete more inbox tasks during regular work hours which has been great. I am also pleased because the quality of my documentation has improved.”
• “It is much easier to engage with patients. I don’t have to focus on typing everything they are mentioning. I can sit and look at the patients while they are speaking with me. This allows for better patient/physician connection, and allows the patient to feel listened to. DAX also records the HPI (history of present illness), and I only have to review it afterwards, to change some grammar and the arrangement of how it was recorded. This makes it much easier to look back to determine what the patient said.”
• “This is amazing! Using DAX has completely changed how I feel about a day in the office. I truly can focus on patients.”