Ottawa Hospital tests AI for clinical note-taking

OTTAWA – The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) is the first Canadian hospital to trial DAX Copilot – a Microsoft solution that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to create draft clinical notes for physicians during patient appointments. By saving physicians time and effort in preparing patient charts, the hospital hopes to increase access to care for patients and reduce physician burnout.

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. According to the Canadian Medical Association, physicians spend around 10 hours per week on administrative tasks, such as charting after patient appointments. DAX Copilot will help free up physicians’ time, so they can focus on providing care.

“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,” said Cameron Love (pictured), president and CEO of The Ottawa Hospital. “Using DAX Copilot is one way that we are using innovative solutions to increase access to care for patients in our community.”

Patients are asked to consent before their appointments are recorded with DAX Copilot and will have access to the notes from their appointment through the MyChart patient portal. They will be provided with information about the program and assured that their health records always remain confidential and secure.

“DAX Copilot helps streamline clinical documentation processes by addressing some of healthcare’s biggest challenges today, such as clinician burnout and administrative burdens,” said Robert Dahdah, CVP, Global Healthcare and Life Sciences, Microsoft. “With less time spent on documentation and other time-consuming tasks, this implementation with The Ottawa Hospital will allow physicians to spend more time interacting with their patients. Importantly, the technology is backed by Microsoft’s strong commitment to Responsible AI principles.”

About The Ottawa Hospital
The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) is one of Canada’s top learning and research hospitals where we are guided by our vision to provide the world-class and compassionate care we would all want for our loved ones. Our multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, is home to the Regional Trauma Centre and Cancer Centre, and to discoveries that are adopted globally.