Oracle Corp. is flexing its generative artificial intelligence muscles again with the launch of a new Clinical Digital Assistant for Ambulatory clinics in the U.S.

Announced today, the new digital assistant is a mobile offering that integrates clinical intelligence, multimodal voice and screen-driven assistance with generative AI. The app is designed to provide clinicians with a comprehensive AI-powered assistant that can help eliminate the burden of administrative work, so they have more time to focus on their patients.

The company said the app’s secret sauce is its integration with Oracle Health Electronic Records, which is a specialized cloud database service aimed at healthcare organizations. Because of this integration, the app can streamline many aspects of doctor-patient interactions.

Oracle spelled out a few examples, saying that clinicians will no longer need to interrupt their appointments with a patient by turning to their computer screen to find and navigate through that person’s health records. Instead, the app will instantly surface the most relevant info for that patient, such as their medical history, latest blood test results and more.

During the appointment, the assistant will also listen in and take notes, based on the user’s preferred template within their EHR record, saving doctors hours of time each day. When taking notes, the Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant will record important items such as any referrals, test results and prescription orders, and schedule a follow-up appointment according to the doctor’s wishes. It will also follow up on lab reports in case they are delayed.

Oracle said 13 healthcare organizations, including Billings Clinic, Covenant Health, Hudson Physicians, St. John’s Health and T.J. Regional Health have already been testing the Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant as early adopters. On average, they claim to have saved about four and a half minutes per patient, and reduced the time it takes for doctors to update healthcare records by between 20% and 40%.

Dr. Alicia Brooks, a medical director at Covenant Health, said she has saved a lot of time in the exam room, because she no longer has to ask patients to repeat themselves while struggling to enter information into their health records.

“What I appreciate most is the ability to regain eye contact and calmly pay attention to what the patient is really telling me,” she said. “I can focus on understanding their concerns and working through a clear diagnosis and plan to thoroughly meet their needs. This is much more satisfying to me and the patient.”

Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences, said doctors can spend up to 35% of their time doing administrative work.

“This isn’t sustainable and contributes to burnout. We need our providers focused on patient needs,” he said. “Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant’s groundbreaking AI technology solves this problem and brings the joy back to the practice of medicine and healthcare.”

Photo: Oracle