Microsoft is offering major updates to healthcare AI tools. The Redmond-based company announced the Dragon Copilot on Monday. Dragon Copilot is a voice activation assistant that combines the functions of Dragon Medical One and Dachshund Copilot into a single tool.
Assistants are built to help with industry burnout management work. It can be explained through all voice commands, including extracting information from a medical database, drafting clinical notes, creating referral characters, and generating post-visit summary.
“Through this technology, clinicians will have the ability to focus on patients rather than computers, which will lead to better outcomes and ultimately better healthcare for everyone,” said Dr. David Liu, global chief medical officer at Microsoft, during a press conference.
In just two years, burnout among US clinicians has declined from 53% in 2023 to 48% in 2024 thanks to advances in technology. However, due to the aging population and the ongoing burden on healthcare workers, a major labor shortage is looming. To address this, healthcare systems look to AI to reduce management burdens, improve access to care, and accelerate clinical decision-making.
According to an October survey by Google Cloud, doctors spend nearly 28 hours a week on paperwork. Microsoft says the technology allows doctors to focus more on patients rather than on screens.
“At Microsoft, we have long believed that AI could release clinicians from much of the administrative burden of healthcare and refocus on caring for patients.”
“With the launch of the new Dragon Copilot, we are introducing the first unified voice AI experience to the market, leveraging reliable decades of expertise that consistently strengthens the health and clinical and financial outcomes of our provider organizations and the patient providers they serve.”
AI bets on Microsoft’s healthcare
Since purchasing Nuance Communications for $16 billion in 2021, Microsoft has been pushed deep into the AI-driven medical documentation space. That transaction has made Microsoft a major player in AI-powered clinical writing.
For example, Dax Copilot was already in use last month with over 3 million patient visits at 600 healthcare institutions. The new Dragon Copilot offers mobile apps, browsers and desktop integrations that work directly with a variety of electronic health records (EHRs).
Competing startups like Abridge and Suki have raised more than $460 million and $170 million respectively, but are developing similar tools. Microsoft’s latest updates can stand out with a more streamlined experience and deeper integration with the existing ecosystem.
What Dragon Copilot can do
While assistants still allow me to draft notes from recorded patient visits, they now offer more interactive features. Physicians can edit documents using natural language commands and seek specific insights.
For example, a doctor could ask, “Did the patient experience ear pain?” Or, “Can I add an ICD-10 code to my assessment and planning?” AI can also respond to a wider range of medical questions, such as “Should this patient be screened for lung cancer?” We provide answers that include links to sources such as CDC.
Wellspan Health, which operates nine hospitals at 250 locations, has been testing Dragon Copilots in recent months. Dr. David Gasperack, chief medical officer of Wellspan’s primary care services, says the early results are promising.
“We’ve been increasingly asked to do administrative tasks that separate us from patient relationships and medical decisions,” Gasperak said. “This allows us to get back to it so that we can focus on the patient and really think about what we need.”
Dragon Copilot: When and where can you use it?
Microsoft has not disclosed pricing, but simply says it is “competitive” and says it can be upgraded easily by existing users. Dragon Copilot will be available to US and Canadian users in May, with plans to expand to the UK, Netherlands, France and Germany later this year.
“Our goal is to restore the joy of practicing medicine for clinicians and provide a better experience for patients worldwide,” Rhew said.
With AI Scribes becoming an increasingly standard part of modern healthcare, Microsoft has deployed Dragon Copilot as a seamless, voice-driven assistant to help doctors regain time that has been engulfed by paperwork. It remains to be seen whether it will surpass competitors like Abridge and Suki, but its deep integration and enterprise reach makes Microsoft obviously aim for a major location in the space.
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