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 returns to his campaign facing a warning of jail time if he violates a trial gag order
Donald Trump on Wednesday will use a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Swarm of bees delays Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles game in Arizona. An 'MVP' beekeeper came to the rescue
Major League Baseball fans had an unexpected buzz on Tuesday after a swarm of bees delayed the Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers game for around two hours.
Newfoundland fisherman says police broke his leg during protest that delayed budget
Richard Martin is spending this year's fishing season on land after he says a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer broke his left leg in three places during a protest last month that shut down the provincial legislature.
A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 10 kilometres (six miles) alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety.
It's opening day for the $34B Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion
Wednesday marks the official start date of the long-awaited $34-billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project.
Will an 'out of sight, out of mind' cellphone policy make a difference in Ontario schools?
Ontario’s cellphone ban in schools has been met with mixed reaction, with some teachers concerned about constant policing of kids and experts applauding the change as necessary for student learning.