Kaiser Permanente improves member experience with AI-enabled clinical technology

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Aug 14, 2024, 11:00 ET

Assisted clinical documentation tool from Abridge helps doctors reduce time spent on administrative tasks, allowing them to be more present with patients.

OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaiser Permanente, the nation's largest nonprofit, integrated health care provider, today announced that a new assisted clinical documentation tool is now available to doctors and other clinicians at Kaiser Permanente's 40 hospitals and more than 600 medical offices in eight states and the District of Columbia. The tool, powered by ambient listening technology from Abridge, supports doctors and other clinicians with securely capturing clinical notes during visits with patients and helps them remain focused on talking with patients rather than on documentation or administrative tasks.

"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. "At Kaiser Permanente, we have a long history of successfully deploying proven technologies on a broad scale, as we continue to provide health care and services when, how, and where our patients need it."

Kaiser Permanente's unique approach to total health includes an emphasis on personalized care and the trusted relationship between doctor and patient. By using the assisted clinical documentation tool, doctors and clinicians at Kaiser Permanente can spend more time understanding the needs of their patients and actively involving their patients in care decisions.

"Our physicians strive to make every interaction with patients matter and work to establish a good rapport with our members so they know they are understood and heard," said Ramin Davidoff, MD, executive medical director and chair of the board with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. "By reducing administrative tasks, we're making it easier for our physicians to focus on patients and foster an environment where they can provide effective communication and transparency while meeting the individual needs of each patient who comes to them for care. Creating space for the patient and the physician connection is what inspired us to implement this technology. And we hope that those connections and improved efficiencies will help with the sustainability of the practice of medicine for many doctors."

The assisted clinical documentation tool uses artificial intelligence (AI) to securely summarize relevant medical information from spoken, natural conversations. Kaiser Permanente responsibly implemented the tool after testing and conducting quality checks, with patient privacy and preference in mind. The tool requires patient consent, and doctors and clinicians will review the clinical notes before entering them into a patient's medical record.

"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 Linda Tolbert, MD, 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."

As part of its mission, Kaiser Permanente invests in technologies that help deliver high-quality, affordable and personalized care to more people. Throughout Kaiser Permanente's nearly 80-year history, the organization has continually transformed health care designed around its members and provided personalized ways to connect to care and services safely and securely.

"Abridge's advanced technology supports our doctors' well-being by reducing the documentation burden, which helps the physician to be more focused on the needs of the patient and their family, and on the aspect of care delivery apart from typing and note-taking," said Brian Hoberman, MD, chief information officer, The Permanente Medical Group. "We implemented this new technology after careful review and diligent testing and found it to be well received by patients and doctors. That's when we proceeded to make it available to all of our clinicians."

Abridge is compliant with state and federal privacy laws, and it processes and encrypts data used by the tool to protect patient privacy. Its technology platform, backed by leading AI research, produces clinical documentation for many types of clinician and patient encounters, including support for more than 14 languages and over 50 medical specialties.

"We are thrilled to work with the incredible physicians and project team members at Kaiser Permanente to help implement Abridge in multiple care settings," said Shiv Rao, MD, founder and CEO of Abridge. "We have worked together to test and meet the highest standards of a true enterprise-wide deployment — addressing scale, evaluation, quality control, as well as the complexity of clinical workflows and IT system integrations. We are excited to continue this work with Kaiser Permanente, building a technology platform that doctors and other clinicians can use to streamline their workflows, and ultimately improve the patient experience."

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 12.5 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health. For more information, go to about.kp.org.

For more information, contact:
Vincent Staupe, [email protected]

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente