Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has become the first health system to go live with Epic’s Emmie, an AI chatbot for patients.
Emmie answers patients’ health questions “within the privacy and context of their medical record,” according to a March 31 Epic LinkedIn post. And more patients around the country will gain access soon, the company said.
The patient-facing chatbot, available in MyChart or via text, is one of three AI assistants the EHR giant unveiled at its Users Group Meeting in August, along with Art for clinicians and Penny for revenue cycle management.
“Emmie will reach out to the patient to find out what the patient wants to cover in the visit. And Emmie will create the visit agenda, which will help both the patient and the clinician,” Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner said during her executive address at the meeting. “And after the visit, Emmie will help patients understand their test results and answer some of their questions.”
Other tech companies, such as Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic, have introduced capabilities that allow consumers to connect or upload their medical records to answer health questions. But Epic’s chatbot is integrated directly with its EHR and MyChart patient portal.
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