Fisher‑Titus enhances clinician productivity and experience
The medical center chose to use both Dragon Medical One and Dragon Ambient eXperience for better documentation and patient‑provider encounters.
The best of both worlds
Fisher‑Titus Medical Center has reaped the benefits of using both Dragon Medical One and DAX to optimize productivity, enhance the patient‑provider experience, improve the quality of documentation, and drive better outcomes. Read the story to see how.
Challenge
Fisher‑Titus was in search of solutions that would unburden clinicians from time‑consuming documentation tasks and restore their ability to focus on patient care.
Solution
They adopted Dragon Medical One and Dragon Ambient eXperience as complementary solutions for pre‑charting through post‑encounter documentation workflows.
Results
1‑2 hours per day saved on documentation, $500K+ savings on physician recruitment, improved patient‑provider experience, enhanced quality of documentation.
Background
As long‑time users of Dragon Medical One, Fisher‑Titus Medical Center was accustomed to using speech recognition technology to ease the burden of clinical documentation. But as they looked to deepen their Nuance footprint with DAX, their administration was unsure how it would fit into their existing workflows. Since deploying Nuance DAX, Fisher‑Titus has reaped the benefits of using the two solutions in tandem to optimize productivity, enhance the patient‑provider experience, improve the quality of documentation, and drive better outcomes.
Dragon Medical One and DAX: a perfect marriage
One of the primary benefits that clinicians at Fisher‑Titus have realized by using Dragon Medical One and DAX together is enhanced efficiency. Samuel Ross, MD, offers insight into his streamlined workday, saying “I come in about 30 minutes early, because that’s about all it takes for me to review my notes and prep my charts for the day. But the moment I’m finished with my last patient I’m done in the office. I maybe stay an extra 5 minutes to wrap up my DAX recording and send in my orders. And then I go home. I’m not spending hours and hours going back and having to document.” He notes that Dragon Medical One is particularly helpful in editing his notes post‑encounter, allowing him to complete his documentation in a timely manner. Glenn Trippe, MD and CMIO, reinforces the time savings his organization has seen across providers, saying “easily, one to two hours a day is saved on average, and that is really significant.”
The reduced time pressure, distraction, and cognitive overload of their physicians has enhanced the patient experience as well. “My patients like it because I can actually have a conversation with them. Patients find this much more personal and less institutionalized,” remarks Dr. Ross.
Moving from cookie‑cutter to custom-made documentation
Prior to deploying DAX, many providers at Fisher‑Titus relied on templates. Dr. Trippe shares the impact that DAX has had in moving beyond ‘cookie‑cutter’ Case study Nuance Dragon Medical One Dragon Ambient eXperience templates, saying, “What you get from a templated note is a very sterile note. Yes, they had all the information, but they really didn’t tell the story as well as we can. Now, with these tools we really can get a true patient story into the note.” Dr. Ross adds that DAX has also been invaluable in catching the small but important details that may have otherwise been overlooked or omitted from the patient record—an important component in improving documentation accuracy. “Being able to just pull up DAX and use Dragon Medical One at the same time to adjust my notes has exponentially improved my documentation,” remarks Dr. Ross. He shares that while he often uses DAX to document during the patient encounter, he values the flexibility that he now has in choosing a tool that is suited to the circumstances of each encounter. “I have more freedom in how I need to do something, because not every patient is the same.”
Using technology to retain and recruit physicians
Unsurprisingly, the reduction in after‑hours work has had a positive impact on physician morale. Dr. Trippe notes that beyond just improving physician satisfaction, Nuance’s technology has been pivotal in reinvigorating physicians at the cusp of quitting. “DAX has salvaged at least 2 positions, if not more, that were ready to quit because the loads were just too much. DAX was able to offload them sufficiently so that they can continue on in our organization successfully.” Physician retention is a significant financial consideration, he adds, noting that the minimum cost of replacing a physician is approximately $250,000.
Similarly, Dr. Trippe shares that the organization’s investment in these sophisticated technologies has been advantageous for recruiting. “We present ourselves as a forward‑thinking, technologically rich organization. We use DAX and Dragon Medical One to help with recruiting, and our technological expertise has positively contributed to the decisions of recruits.”
A future‑proof platform
With strong outcomes and utilization, Fisher‑Titus looks to continue expanding on their successes with Nuance. “There’s a strong commitment from our institution. Our senior leadership has seen the benefits of this program, so they are strongly committed to being involved with this for the future.”