On Monday, Microsoft Corp. unveiled Microsoft Dragon Copilot, the first AI assistant designed specifically for clinical workflows. This innovative tool combines the trusted voice dictation capabilities of DMO with DAX’s ambient listening technology, enhanced generative AI, and healthcare-specific safeguards.
As part of the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot is built on a secure architecture, aiming to improve experiences and outcomes for both healthcare providers and patients.
Recent statistics show that clinician burnout in the U.S. decreased from 53% in 2023 to 48% in 2024, partly due to advancements in technology. However, with an aging population and ongoing burnout challenges, a significant workforce shortage in healthcare is anticipated.
In response, health systems are increasingly adopting AI to streamline administrative tasks, improve access to care, and provide quicker clinical insights.
“At Microsoft, we believe that AI can significantly reduce the administrative burden on clinicians, allowing them to focus more on patient care,” said Joe Petro, corporate vice president of Microsoft Health and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms. “With the launch of Dragon Copilot, we are introducing a unified voice AI experience that leverages our extensive expertise to enhance provider wellness and improve clinical outcomes.”
Dr. R. Hal Baker, senior vice president and chief digital and information officer at WellSpan Health, expressed enthusiasm for Dragon Copilot’s potential: “This tool not only improves our work with electronic health records (EHR) but also integrates AI assistance throughout our organization, creating a consistent and intelligent experience that enhances patient care.”
Dragon Copilot merges DMO’s speech capabilities, which have helped clinicians document billions of patient records, with DAX’s ambient AI technology, which has facilitated over 3 million patient conversations in the past month across 600 healthcare organizations. The implementation of these AI capabilities has led to significant improvements, including clinicians saving an average of five minutes per encounter, a 70% reduction in feelings of burnout and fatigue, and 93% of patients reporting a better overall experience.
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Key features of Dragon Copilot include:
- Streamlined Documentation: Clinicians can utilize multilingual ambient note creation, automated tasks, personalized formatting, natural language dictation, and more within a single interface.
- Information Access: The embedded AI assistant allows clinicians to conduct medical information searches from trusted sources.
- Task Automation: New features enable clinicians to automate tasks such as conversational orders, referral letters, and after-visit summaries in one centralized workspace.
Dragon Copilot will be available in the U.S. and Canada starting in May, with plans to expand to the U.K., Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Microsoft is also dedicated to introducing a new Dragon experience to additional key markets.
Glen Kearns, EVP and CIO of The Ottawa Hospital, emphasized the importance of addressing administrative burnout: “The latest evolution of Dragon Copilot represents a significant advancement in reducing documentation burdens for our clinical teams.”
With a robust healthcare industry partner ecosystem, Microsoft aims to enhance the value of Dragon Copilot through new solutions and integrated offerings. These partners include leading EHR providers, software vendors, and cloud service providers, all contributing to meaningful outcomes.
Dragon Copilot is built on a secure data framework, incorporating clinical, chat, and compliance safeguards to ensure accurate and safe AI outputs. Microsoft’s commitment to responsible AI development focuses on transparency, reliability, fairness, and security, aiming to positively impact the healthcare ecosystem and society as a whole.
For more information on Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, visit the Microsoft health and life sciences press site. To learn more about Dragon Copilot, click here or visit booth #2221 at HIMSS.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is dedicated to creating AI-powered platforms and tools that meet the evolving needs of customers, with a mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more.
