Northwell Health, based in New Hyde Park, N.Y., plans to expand its use of Abridge’s ambient AI platform across all 28 hospitals as part of a broader digital transformation effort to redefine how patients, clinicians and communities experience care.
“The primary goal of our ambient AI platform is to support clinicians by improving their daily experience and reducing administrative burden,” Kristin Myers, chief digital officer at Northwell Health, told Becker’s. “This initiative is an important part of our broader digital transformation strategy to reimagine how patients, clinicians and our communities engage with care — making interactions more seamless, efficient and human-centered.”
Ms. Myers said that by integrating ambient technology, the health system aims to return valuable time to clinicians, enhance documentation accuracy and strengthen the overall quality of care delivery. Before scaling the platform, however, Northwell evaluated several vendors through a “structured, data-driven process” that provided critical insights shaping the system’s rollout plan.
“A select group of physicians participated in pilot programs, allowing us to establish baseline metrics around usage, efficiency, accuracy, experience and more,” Ms. Myers said. “This approach provided insight into how each solution performed in our environment and how well it aligned with clinician needs.”
Through these pilots, Northwell found that success depended on more than technology — it required thoughtful workflow integration, clinician trust and demonstrable value.
“Ease of use, accuracy and minimal disruption to patient care were essential to adoption. Equally important, strong change management emerged as a key driver of success, emphasizing the need for early engagement, clear communication and targeted training to sustain adoption and maximize impact,” Ms. Myers said.
Northwell’s evaluation of ambient AI vendors extended beyond pilot performance.
“We assessed vendor track records in customer success and adoption, enterprise analytics and reporting capabilities, the quality and responsiveness of technical and account support, company stability and scalability, and the depth of integration with Epic,” Ms. Myers said. “These factors were critical to ensure immediate effectiveness and long-term sustainability.”
Ultimately, Northwell selected Abridge because it was the most favored option and offered the deepest, most mature integration with Epic — part of Northwell’s $1.2 billion investment to unify the health system under a single EHR.
While Ms. Myers anticipates some challenges as Northwell moves forward with the rollout, she said the initiative has generated significant interest and enthusiasm among physicians.
“Clinicians are truly excited as we roll out Abridge and eager to see its impact,” Ms. Myers said. “To ensure it truly reduces documentation burden rather than adds friction, we are establishing clear success metrics to measure usage, efficiency, accuracy, experience, etc.”
Northwell is also engaging clinicians directly in the design, testing and refinement process to address workflow needs and surface friction points early. The system is applying a continuous improvement approach — using feedback loops, analytics and key learnings to fine-tune both the technology and the workflows that support it.
“I think ambient and generative AI will really change the way we work by creating a more connected and efficient care environment,” Ms. Myers said. “These technologies are moving beyond just capturing what happens in an encounter — they’re starting to anticipate what clinicians need, surfacing the right information at the right time and helping make care delivery smoother.”
