Nuance Connects Wolters Kluwer Clinical Database to Dragon Medical Virtual Assistant
Voice tech mainstay Nuance has partnered with Wolters Kluwer to add clinical information to the Dragon Medical One voice assistant used by physicians. The Clinical Content Search tool enables doctors to search through Wolters Kluwer’s UpToDate database of clinical topics by voice.
Clinical Voice
The arrangement connects Wolters Kluwer’s UpToDate database of clinical topics to the Dragon Medical voice assistant. Doctors can ask the voice assistant for answers on topics like suggested treatments, appropriate medication doses, any potential side effects. Using the voice assistant to get this information is faster and easier than more traditional methods, theoretically leading to better care for patients. The new skill is part of an extended rollout of new skills Nuance plans to add to Dragon Medical One, similar to the arrangement the company announced in December to upgrade and merge the Nuance’s medical virtual assistant with Microsoft’s Azure platform. Any doctor already signed up for both the voice assistant and UpToDate can use the new feature.
“We are constantly thinking about innovations that add value for our clinician users, and voice-enabled search is a natural extension of our capabilities,” Wolters Kluwer, Health vice president of products and solutions for clinical effectiveness Priti Shah said in a statement. “Voice-enabled search allows the millions of clinicians using our expert solution, UpToDate, to get evidence-based content that they trust in seconds, freeing them up to spend more time with patients. From the success of voice-based patient interactions in our Emmi patient engagement solutions, to this new capability with Nuance, we’re bringing together proven technologies into the clinical workflow that can improve both the patient and clinician experience.”
Dragon Health
The expansion of the medical voice assistant three years after it launched as Dragon Medical Virtual Assistant fits with both how the industry has evolved and how Nuance has continued to push its presence in the industry. Healthcare AI has been booming in general, and for medical virtual assistants in particular. Startups have been rapidly accruing investment capital and clients, like medical voice assistant developer Saykara, which has raised $9 million. Suki, another medical voice assistant platform developer, has pulled in $40 million for both its standalone assistant and as a feature integrated into other products like Amazon’s Amazon Transcribe Medical, an automated transcription service for medical professionals. The current COVID-19 health crisis has only accelerated the trend, leading Nuance to beat analyst expectations for the most recent quarter thanks in part to the 10% rise in healthcare revenue over the last year. Including UpToDate on its list of features will likely only add to the value of Nuance’s medical assistant.
“We are excited by this partnership because it further empowers clinicians by making it easier to access relevant medical information at the point of care leveraging the power of Dragon Medical One,” Nuance senior vice president of provider solutions Michael Clark said. “Wolters Kluwer is a trusted partner with a proven track record of applying technology to the practice of evidence-based medicine and together, we’ll have an even larger impact on productivity and outcomes.”
Follow @voicebotai Follow @erichschwartz
How Clinical Voice Assistant Startup Suki Lowers Insurance Claim Rejection by 19%
