Athenahealth Integrates Abridge's AI Scribing Tool to Enhance Clinician Efficiency

Abridge's AI technology automatically drafts clinical notes in real-time by transcribing conversations between doctors and patients—with consent.

Healthcare software provider Athenahealth has announced a partnership with Abridge, integrating the startup's AI-powered scribing tool into its network of over 160,000 clinicians. 

The collaboration aims to streamline clinical documentation and reduce the administrative burden on healthcare providers.

Athenahealth, known for its electronic health record (EHR) systems, revenue cycle management tools, and patient engagement solutions, has been enhancing its AI-powered offerings. 

In October 2023, the company introduced Ambient Notes, a feature that allows doctors to select from various AI-driven documentation tools. Abridge is the latest addition to this suite, joining other providers like Suki and iScribeHealth.

AI-Powered Scribing to Address Physician Burnout

Abridge's AI technology automatically drafts clinical notes in real-time by transcribing conversations between doctors and patients—with consent. 

This innovation is particularly relevant as the healthcare industry faces growing concerns over staff burnout and administrative workload. According to an October 2023 study by Google Cloud, clinicians spend an average of nine hours per week on documentation. 

Furthermore, a February 2023 survey commissioned by Athenahealth revealed that over 90% of physicians experience burnout on a regular basis.

Companies such as Abridge, Microsoft's Nuance Communications, and Suki are actively competing in this booming market, offering AI solutions

that aim to automate documentation and improve clinical efficiency.

"The market is going to evolve rather rapidly, and there will be winners and losers," said Athenahealth CEO Bob Segert in an interview with CNBC. 

"Different physicians will prefer different ways that notes are taken, and information is delivered, and we want to provide that flexibility."

Abridge's Growing Presence in Healthcare

Abridge has already deployed its technology across more than 100 health systems in the U.S., including prestigious institutions like Mayo Clinic, Duke Health, and Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The company recently secured $250 million in funding and introduced a Contextual Reasoning Engine, designed to tailor AI-generated notes to specific clinicians and their clinic's best practices. This new technology will now be available to Athenahealth users.

Abridge CEO Dr. Shiv Rao emphasized the importance of standing out in the competitive market. 

"It'll be incumbent upon us to demonstrate differentiation," he said. "So far, we've had good success over the last few years in doing that."

Although Athenahealth's Ambient Notes solution is currently available on a limited basis, the company plans to expand access through 2025. Segert is optimistic about the tool's growing adoption. 

"The more they try it, the more they like it, and I think we're going to see a steep adoption curve as this continues to move forward," he stated.

Stay tuned for more such updates on Digital Health News.