Ottawa Hospital testing new AI tool to help doctors draft clinical notes for patient care
The Ottawa Hospital is hoping artificial intelligence will help reduce physician burnout and increase access to care for patients.
Ottawa's largest hospital is testing DAX Copilot, a Microsoft program that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create draft clinical notes for physicians to use during appointments with patients.
"Using ambient, conversational, and generative AI, DAX Copilot securely records physician-patient conversations and converts them into medical notes for the physician to review and finalize.The notes are then entered into TOH’s electronic health records system, Epic," the Ottawa Hospital said in a statement.
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
According to the Canadian Medical Association, physicians spend approximately 10 hours per week on administrative work, including filling out charts after a patient's appointment. The Ottawa Hospital says the DAX Copilot program will help free up time for doctors, so they can spend more time providing care to patients.
"With DAX Copilot, our physicians will now be able to spend less time on administrative tasks, which allows them to spend more time interacting with patients and delivering high-quality care," Cameron Love, president and CEO of the Ottawa Hospital, said in a statement.
"Using DAX Copilot is one way that we are using innovative solutions to increase access to care for patients in our community.”
The Ottawa Hospital is the first Canadian hospital to test the DAX Copilot system for physicians. The hospital says patients will need to give consent before their appointments are recorded with the system.
"We are excited to have a new tool that can help physicians reduce the amount of time they type information into a computer and spend more time with their patients," Dr. Virginia Roth, Chief of Staff at the Ottawa Hospital, told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with Kristy Cameron.
Dr. Roth says the DAX Copilot is similar to an app on a cellphone.
"If a patient consents, (it) will pick up the conversation between the physician and a patient in the background and translate that into a medical note that is directly placed in the patient's secure medical record.
All patients will have access to the notes from their appointment through the Ottawa Hospital MyChart patient portal.
Dr. Roth says she had an opportunity to test the new DAX Copilot system.
"Within 20 seconds of ending the visit, there was a note that was accurate. In fact, I read through it and don't think I would have changed anything before approving and sending off that note."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Custom baseball card released of Blue Jays fan struck in the face with foul ball
Liz McGuire, the Blue Jays fan who was struck in the face with a 110 m.p.h. foul ball last week, has been pictured on a custom baseball trading card applauding her fandom to the game.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Pro-Palestinian protesters expected to meet with U of T administration
Pro-Palestinian protesters who have set up an encampment on the University of Toronto campus are expected to meet with school officials today.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Are you a loud snorer? You could have sleep apnea
You'll have a lot more energy throughout the day if you get a good night's sleep, but not everyone does due to a medical condition.
Beer Store planning to 'thrive and adapt' as Ontario announces changes to alcohol sales starting this summer
The Beer Store says it is looking forward to the next stage in its “evolution” as the province rolls out an accelerated timeline for expanding retail alcohol sales in Ontario.
Here's what every key witness said at Donald Trump's hush money trial. Closing arguments are coming
After 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders, testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.