Oracle integrates generative AI tools into its EHR

Those tools include voice and screen-based activations that reduce manual work for physicians

There's been plenty of talk about how generative AI capabilities, like ChatGPT, can be integrated into the healthcare space, with the goal of making life better for both patients and providers.

For example, it can improve access to information, creating more efficient patient engagement, helping patients understand how their symptom relate to their specific health concerns and history. That helps physicians by answering questions on their behalf so they can put more focus on people who actually need help.

That's all theoretical, of course, but now Oracle is going to be putting those tools into practice, this week announcing a new generative AI service for healthcare organizations, called the Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant, which will be integrated with Cerner, Oracle’s electronic health record (EHR) solution that it bought for $28 billion last year. 

The Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant is a voice and screen-based tool that uses generative AI, combined with voice commands, to reduce manual work for physicians, while also making it easy for patients to perform tasks, such as scheduling appointments, checking clinical information, paying a bill, or getting generative AI-driven answers to their questions. 

The service participates in the appointment, automatically taking notes, which it uses to propose next actions, which can be anything from ordering medication to scheduling labs and follow-up appointments.

The Oracle Clinical Digital Assistant also responds to conversational voice commands from providers who can ask it questions, such as "show me the patient’s latest MRI results." The tool will then look up elements of a patient’s EHR record during the appointment and deliver information and images to help the physician figure out the appropriate treatment for that patient.

The company says the new solution will be available in the next 12 months but certain capabilities are already available, including providing information to patients via web chat embedded in the provider's patient portal, including reminders to bring required lab results to an upcoming visit.  

“The EHR should be a provider’s best ally in delivering engaging, personalized care to the patients they serve,” Suhas Uliyar, senior vice president of product management, Oracle Health, said in a statement. 

“By bringing comprehensive generative AI and voice-first capabilities to our EHR platforms, we are not only helping providers reduce mundane work that leads to burnout, but we are also empowering them to create better interactions with patients that establish trust, build loyalty, and deliver better outcomes.”

Generative AI has seen a huge spike this year, not only in interest but in funding as well: there was $280.64 million invested across 48 seed stage deals alone in the generative AI space in Q2, nearly doubling the amount of money from the previous quarter, while the number of deals rose 33% in that time.

It's not just venture capitalists that are taking an interest in generative AI: as PitchBook also noted, over 65% of Y Combinator's summer cohort, meaning 134 startups, are building tools around AI.