Epic touts new AI tools for patients and doctors at company's annual meeting

At Epic Systems' recent annual Users Group Meeting in Verona, Wisconsin, the spotlight shone on advances in artificial intelligence aimed at enhancing healthcare delivery. CEO Judy Faulkner, donning a playful purple wig and bright attire reminiscent of a beloved cartoon character, addressed a packed underground auditorium filled with healthcare executives. Faulkner announced that Epic is currently developing around 200 AI features designed to assist patients, clinicians, and insurers. "We are combining human intelligence and curiosity with the investigative capabilities of generative AI," she stated, emphasizing the transformative potential of these technologies in the healthcare sector. Epic, renowned for its electronic health record software, which serves 280 million Americans, introduced several new features during the event. One of the highlights was the launch of MyChart Central, enabling patients to access their health records with a single set of login credentials across multiple health systems. This innovation, Faulkner noted, is set to streamline administrative tasks and enhance patient experience. Additionally, the MyChart portal will feature Emmie, a new AI assistant capable of answering patient inquiries about lab results, suggesting appointment times, and advising on screenings to discuss with healthcare providers. The presentation also highlighted other AI assistants—Art and Penny—which are tailored for clinicians and administrative functions, respectively. Art is designed to function as a digital colleague, forecasting the information a doctor may need and drafting clinical notes during patient visits. The surge in demand for AI-powered documentation tools is a response to the increasing burden of administrative tasks in healthcare, with many startups in the field attracting significant investments. Epic's collaboration with Microsoft was also a focal point, with the companies working together to enhance AI capabilities for healthcare. As part of this partnership, they aim to integrate Microsoft's ambient AI technology into Epic's new charting tool. Penny, another AI assistant introduced, focuses on revenue cycle management and can assist with tasks like generating appeal letters for denied insurance claims and expediting medical coding processes. Faulkner concluded the session by teasing the future potential of Cosmos AI—a set of proprietary models developed from a vast dataset of deidentified patient information. This initiative aims to assist researchers in predicting patient outcomes, a critical advancement as the healthcare industry seeks to improve care delivery. "As we gather more data, the models continue to improve, and we're just beginning to explore their full capabilities," said Seth Hain, Epic's senior vice president of research and development, highlighting the promising future of AI in healthcare.