Meritus uses AI to streamline, improve patient care

Providers are using ambient listening technology, allowing them to interact with and give more attention to patients. 

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — In its mission to improve the health of the community, Meritus Health providers will be using a new technology to create documentation during patient visits.

The technology, Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Copilot, a clinical artificial intelligence-powered listening solution that is now part of Microsoft Dragon Copilot, captures patient-provider conversations and drafts clinical notes directly into the patient’s chart.

“Using this new technology allows our healthcare providers to do what they were trained to do,” said Dave Lehr, chief strategy officer at Meritus Health. “Providers can focus on engaging in conversation with patients while AI securely captures the conversation at the point of care. That patient interaction is the reason so many of our care providers went into medicine in the first place.”

The solution uses ambient technology to unobtrusively listen to and capture the conversation using a mobile phone or tablet. Then AI converts the conversation into a note while the provider focuses on the patient.

“It also allows me to look the patient in the eye,” said Liza Hiles, M.D., a provider at Meritus Primary Care in Hancock. “The patients have noticed that I am able to sit and have a conversation with them.”

Dr. Chiemeka Onyima, M.D., D.ABA, said using DAX Copilot has been pivotal to his practice at Meritus Pain Specialists.

“With the ability to decrease documentation time, I'm able to focus more on my physical exam and patient interview,” he said. “With the optimization of my patient-centered care, I benefit from huge improvements in patient satisfaction, insurance approvals, and overall job satisfaction. I highly recommend this AI tool for any provider running a high-volume clinic like my own.”

The technology is integrated into Meritus’ electronic health records, which is highly secure and continuously monitored. The devices involved with the capture of this information are the same ones used for clinical care and coordination today.

Patients will be asked to give written or verbal consent to allow the provider to record their interactions. All documentation will be reviewed, corrected and approved by the patient’s provider to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the medical record.

The expectation is that patients will find their providers markedly more personable and conversational, focused and spending less time on the computer, Lehr said.

“This new technology will help facilitate that, lowering your stress levels and improving your understanding of your care,” he said. “We want you to not only be healthy, but to have a good experience when you see a provider at Meritus.”

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Meritus Health, Western Maryland’s largest health care provider, is located at the crossroads of Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The mission of Meritus Health is to improve the health of the region by providing the best healthcare, health services and medical education. As an anchor organization for the community, Meritus has 4,000 employees and serves more than 200,000 residents of the tristate region through Meritus Medical Center, Brook Lane Health Services, Meritus Medical Group, Meritus Home Health, Meritus Equipped for Life, and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. More information can be found at www.MeritusHealth.com or visit our Facebook page or LinkedIn page.