In an industry where emergency physicians are overwhelmed with high patient volumes and complex documentation demands, Memorial Hermann Health System is leading the way in leveraging ambient AI to support clinical care. In a recent Becker’s Healthcare webinar, Dr. Michael Bublewicz, ER physician and Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Hermann, joined Dr. Will Morris, Chief Medical Officer at Ambience Healthcare, to share insights into their implementation and the evolving impact of ambient AI in high-acuity care settings.
Panelists:
- Dr. Michael Bublewicz, Chief Medical Officer, Memorial Hermann
- Dr. Will Morris, Chief Medical Officer, Ambience Healthcare
1. A Game-Changer for Emergency Documentation
Dr. Bublewicz outlined the intense demands of emergency medicine—juggling multiple high-acuity patients, managing fragmented workflows, and balancing documentation with real-time care. Memorial Hermann’s emergency departments handle over 600,000 visits a year across 20 sites, making scalable efficiency a necessity.
Traditional documentation tools fell short in capturing the nonlinear nature of emergency encounters. By deploying ambient AI with real-time listening and documentation capabilities, Memorial Hermann gave clinicians a way to document complex patient interactions without sacrificing quality or time.
2. Lessons from Early Adoption and EHR Integration
Memorial Hermann began piloting Ambience prior to its Epic EHR go-live, starting with a non-integrated version to support physicians during a critical transition. As Dr. Bublewicz noted, even in this early phase, physicians experienced major improvements in documentation speed and completeness.
Following Epic go-live, full integration accelerated adoption across ambulatory and emergency settings. Dr. Bublewicz credited the platform’s flexibility for meeting diverse documentation needs and the importance of involving revenue cycle and compliance teams early on to ensure coding integrity.
3. Meaningful ROI Beyond the Bottom Line
While Memorial Hermann saw financial ROI in the form of increased productivity and faster chart closures, the system prioritized clinician experience and patient outcomes. Burnout scores dropped by more than 25 points, and patient experience scores improved on metrics like “the doctor listened” and “time spent with me.”
This impact is shaping enterprise-wide adoption. Ambience is now being offered to all new medical group hires, and physicians are actively requesting access. Dr. Bublewicz confirmed that ambient AI is already a competitive differentiator for recruitment.
4. Advice for Health Systems Considering Ambient AI
Dr. Bublewicz advised organizations to prioritize solutions that can scale across use cases—from ambulatory to urgent care, inpatient, and emergency medicine. Early pilot results showed enough value to justify adoption even before full EHR integration, making a strong case for earlier implementation.
He emphasized selecting a partner who listens, adapts to specialty workflows, and co-develops with clinicians. “You’re not going to have to wait months to get feedback. You’ll get it within days,” he said.
Looking Ahead
As Memorial Hermann expands ambient AI across clinical specialties, its impact is being felt in documentation quality, provider engagement, and patient satisfaction. The future of emergency care, Dr. Bublewicz noted, is not just about better technology—it’s about making care more human.
