During encounters with patients, nurses balance face-to-face interaction with tasks like searching patient records and documenting care. As electronic health record (EHR) provider Oracle Health said in an interview on Thursday, “This can take time away from direct patient care and contribute to after-shift charting.”
To reduce the administrative burden on nurses, Oracle Health announced that the Oracle Health Clinical AI Agent, currently used by physicians across the US, is now available for nurses. The agent provides automated tools for chart navigation and real-time documentation, which are designed so that nurses can easily integrate into their existing workflows.
For example, the agent speeds up time spent on chart navigation by allowing nurses to locate patient records using natural language voice commands rather than relying on manual searches. After pulling up a patient chart, nurses can use the agent’s AI-powered summaries to quickly understand the patient’s current condition and other relevant information without taking time for a full chart review. The agent also offers voice-enabled discrete charting that allows nurses to dictate information such as weight, blood pressure, and symptoms in real time.
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This isn’t the first AI tool designed to give nurses back time lost to routine administrative tasks. Earlier this month, Lifepoint Health announced that it was piloting an ambient listening technology to capture conversations between nurses and patients and automatically document them in patient records. The company is also exploring AI agents that could help nurses prioritize patient assignments before the beginning of a shift.
Similarly, nurses can use Hippocratic AI’s Nurse Co-Pilot voice assistant to communicate key care plan information to patients and caregivers. The assistant calls patients directly to provide education on topics like discharge preparation, medication details, and post-discharge care, with clinical notes automatically documented in patient charts afterwards.
However, the Oracle Health Clinical AI Agent is unique in the way it’s embedded directly in the Oracle Health Foundation EHR, making it easier for nurses who don’t have to shift between tools used for separate tasks. “This embedded approach helps reduce context switching and keeps nurses in control while fitting AI into the systems and processes they already use,” said Oracle Health.
The system also allows nurses to review and approve documentation before it is entered into the EHR to ensure that no errors are made by the agent. “The agent is intended to assist nurses, while keeping them in control of reviewing and approving the resulting documentation,” said Oracle Health.
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The agent adds to an existing portfolio of Oracle Health AI tools that aim to reduce the time clinicians spend on administrative work. By reducing the time needed for chart navigation and documentation, the Oracle Health Clinical AI Agent lightens the burden created by these administrative tasks while allowing nurses to stay focused on meaningful face-to-face care.
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