Nuance and Epic Expand Ambient Documentation Integration Across the Clinical Experience with DAX Express for Epic

The companies' long-standing collaboration to develop integrated technology helps create better experiences for patients and providers

BURLINGTON, Mass. and VERONA, Wis., June 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuance® Communications, Inc., a Microsoft Company and Epic announced that they are making the Nuance® Dragon® Ambient eXperience™ Express (DAX Express™) solution available to the Epic community. Building on the overall strategic collaboration between Microsoft, Nuance, and Epic, the integration of DAX Express into Epic workflows will act as a copilot for Dragon Medical users to further manage administrative workloads that lead to burnout, expand access to care for patients, and enhance healthcare outcomes with clinical documentation that writes itself™. 

DAX Express is a workflow-integrated, AI-powered clinical documentation application that is the first to combine Nuance's proven conversational and ambient AI with the newest and most capable AI model, GPT4, in the Azure OpenAI Service. Providers that use DAX Express for Epic will be able to create draft clinical notes automatically and securely from the exam room or via a telehealth encounter for immediate clinical review and completion after each patient visit. Extending the proven Dragon Medical portfolio of solutions and building on the market-leading DAX ambient solution launched in 2020, DAX Express is the next milestone in Nuance's long-standing mission to reduce administrative burden and empower clinicians to spend more time taking care of patients and less time on paperwork.  

"DAX Express for Epic will spark a transformational shift in how we all approach healthcare. We've already seen first-hand how ambient AI from Nuance has transformed the provider-patient experience using the DAX ambient solution, but now with the augmentation of generative AI, we're going to give our providers more options to use technology in a way that delivers even greater outcomes to them and their patients," said Josh Wilda, Chief Digital and Information Officer at the University of Michigan Health-West. "DAX is already reducing what used to be hours of time for clinical documentation to mere seconds—while improving the quality of patient care and provider experiences. It's truly life changing."

Powered by Microsoft Azure, DAX today is used by hundreds of healthcare organizations using the Epic electronic health record (EHR) and thousands of their physicians. Clinicians who use DAX reported that it has helped them achieve a better work-life balance (79%), experience higher job satisfaction (67%), and reduce feelings of burnout and fatigue (70%). Additionally, 3 out of 4 physicians state that DAX improves documentation quality while patients say their physician is more personable and conversational (85%), more focused (80%), and spent less time on their computer during the patient encounter (82%). DAX also increases operational efficiency with reduced documentation time, increased throughput, and access to care. Clinicians reported saving 7 minutes per encounter, adding 5 additional appointments on average per clinic day, and achieving a 40% increase in first-time approval of prior authorizations. 

"Game-changer is one of the most frequent terms given by our physicians as they describe their impressions of DAX, and we foresee that integrations planned for DAX Express for Epic will take that up a notch.  The ability to turn around notes in seconds rather than hours offsets one of the few tradeoffs of DAX. This collaboration will allow our physicians to focus more completely on the care and treatment of their patients while the AI works behind the scenes to document the encounter, allowing people and technology to each do what they do best without delays," said Dr. Hal Baker, Chief Digital and Information Officer at WellSpan Health.

"We've worked closely with Epic for well over a decade, with deep technological integrations that provide hundreds of health systems globally that use Epic's EHR with AI-powered solutions designed to help alleviate clinician burnout, improve operating efficiencies, and enhance patient care," said Peter Durlach, Chief Strategy Officer at Nuance. "As Nuance and Epic continue to work toward a shared vision to create more efficient and intelligence-infused healthcare experiences for providers and patients at scale, DAX Express will act as a clinical workflow copilot for Dragon Medical One and Dragon Ambient eXperience users working within Epic's EHR."

"For both patients and providers, quality care experiences start with meaningful conversations and mutual understanding," said Sean Bina, Vice President of Patient Experience at Epic. "For the first time, we can see how conversational understanding, generative AI, and clinical context can together generate high-quality documentation."  

DAX Express for Epic will be included for users of DAX and available as an addition to Dragon Medical One. Consistent with Nuance's longstanding commitment to data security and privacy, DAX Express is HIPAA-compliant and developed with an approach to help create AI products that are trustworthy and safe. DAX Express for Epic will be available in private preview this Summer through the Fall. To be added to the DAX Express interest list visit https://www.nuance.com/healthcare/campaign/learn-more/express.html. 

Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. 

About Nuance Communications 
Nuance Communications is a technology pioneer with market leadership in conversational, ambient, and generative AI. A full-service partner trusted by 77 percent of U.S. hospitals and more than 75 percent of the Fortune 100 companies worldwide, Nuance creates intuitive solutions that amplify people's ability to help others. Nuance is a Microsoft company. 

About Epic
Epic develops software to help people get well, help people stay well, and help future generations be healthier. Visit www.epic.com/about.

SOURCE Nuance Communications, Inc.