Ochsner Health has become the first health system to use Epic’s Ergo Visit, an AI-supported outpatient visit tool designed to help clinicians prepare for appointments, stay present during patient conversations and finish documentation before the visit ends.
Four clinicians in family and internal medicine at the New Orleans-based health system began using Ergo Visit on Aug. 3. Ochsner moved up a planned Epic system upgrade by three weeks to start the pilot sooner, according to Epic.
Ergo Visit combines several existing Epic AI tools. At the start of a visit, the system surfaces focused insights from the patient’s chart. Epic’s ambient AI tool, Chart with Art, then listens to the clinician-patient conversation, anticipates information the clinician might need and drafts documentation throughout the visit.
Laurentia Nicosia, MD, a primary care physician at Ochsner, used Ergo Visit’s AI assistant, Art, to pull a same-day patient summary before a last-minute appointment. Amanda Martin, PA-C, said the tool drafted medication orders during a post-surgical visit, and Stephen Lambert, MD, used it to check a patient’s testing history for cyclospora.
“It’s been a collaborative effort to get Ergo Visit in the hands of our doctors, and they are really excited,” said Amy Trainor, RN, system vice president and CIO at Ochsner Health, in a news release.
Epic is also piloting Ergo Visit with five physicians in its Garden Plot collaborative, according to a company fact sheet distributed at its annual customer conference.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
