Microsoft has launched a new voice-activated AI assistant aimed at helping doctors and healthcare professionals. The tool, named Dragon Copilot, is designed to transcribe clinical notes, draft documents, and quickly search medical information. Dragon Copilot is part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare and uses technology from Nuance, an AI voice company Microsoft bought for $16 billion in 2021. The tool has been enhanced with generative AI and adjusted to meet healthcare safety standards, according to a blog post published by Microsoft on March 3.
In a blog post, Microsoft highlights the following capabilities as the tool's unique selling points:
Streamline documentation: Clinicians can take advantage of multilanguage ambient note creation, automated tasks and multilanguage support, personalised style and formatting, natural language dictation capabilities, speech memos, editing, customised texts, templates, AI prompts, and more in one singular user interface.
Surface information: The embedded AI assistant functionality allows clinicians to conduct general-purpose medical information searches from trusted content sources.
Automate tasks: New capabilities allow clinicians to automate key tasks, such as conversational orders, note and clinical evidence summaries, referral letters, and after-visit summaries, in one centralised workspace.
"At Microsoft, we have long believed that AI has the incredible potential to free clinicians from much of the administrative burden in healthcare and enable them to refocus on taking care of patients," said Joe Petro, corporate vice president of Microsoft Health and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms.
"With the launch of our new Dragon Copilot, we are introducing the first unified voice AI experience to the market, drawing on our trusted, decades-long expertise that has consistently enhanced provider wellness and improved clinical and financial outcomes for provider organisations and the patients they serve."
"With Dragon Copilot, we're not just enhancing how we work in the EHR - we're tapping into a Microsoft-powered ecosystem where AI assistance extends across our organisation, delivering a consistent and intelligent experience everywhere we work," said Dr R Hal Baker, senior vice president and chief digital and chief information officer, WellSpan Health. "It's this ability to enhance the patient experience while streamlining clinician workflows that makes Dragon Copilot such a game-changer."