Making technology work for clinicians instead of the other way around

Internal surveys at Nemours Children’s showed that information technology (IT) plays a role in physician burnout. Several initiatives at Nemours Children’s aim to combat this EMR-related fatigue. 

Physician IT (PhIT) is a program engaging providers in informatics training and certification to be able to improve applications and tools for their fellow clinicians. A three-year program, the first co-hort graduated in 2021 and is developing workflow solutions in tandem with our IT associates to improve efficiencies, experience and physician well-being. PhIT physicians are finding additional value as they are able to better understand and analyze data from the EMR to improve quality. One such physician group is evaluating their own EMR data to understand why some inflammatory bowel disease patients are relapsing from remission.

Another program designed to provide work-savings for physicians, is the digital ambient experience (DAX) virtual scribe tool. This offering leverages artificial intelligence to draft actionable clinical notes — beyond simple transcription — by listening in on the patient-physician encounter. Nemours Children’s is the first pediatric program in the nation to pilot this technology with approximately 20 physicians exploring its ability to reduce hours of time spent converting notes, which could enhance efficiencies for the entire care team.

“Making documentation easier can change the work experience, especially when it can be customized to meet an individual physician’s needs.”

Sara Slovin, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer
PhIT graduate