Background: Dr. Jonathan D. Creech, an orthopedic surgeon at Ozark Orthopaedics, was facing a significant challenge in clinical documentation. Before adopting Ember Copilot, he relied on manual dictation and third-party software like Mobius, which often resulted in inefficiencies, increased workload, and a time-consuming note-completion process. The lack of automation in billing and integration with his EHR further added to the burden.
Challenges with Previous Documentation Methods: Before implementing Ember Copilot, Dr. Creech faced multiple obstacles in his workflow:
- Time-Consuming Documentation: “I did 70 notes for my Tuesday and Friday clinic, and it took me, like, an hour, and that would normally take me three or four hours.”
- Speech Recognition Issues: “Mobius is not the best at detecting words all the time. Like, oftentimes, I find myself repeating myself, and it just obviously takes a lot longer.”
- Lack of Automation in Patient Summaries: “In the assessment and plan, I’d love it to say, like, ‘45-year-old female has a medical history of x, y, and z,’ but it’s not doing it every time.”
Why Dr. Creech Chose Ember Copilot: Frustrated with inefficiencies, Dr. Creech sought an AI-driven documentation solution. Although he considered waiting for Athena's integrated AI, he opted for Ember Copilot due to its ease of use and efficiency. “Your guys have been super easy to work with, and it seems to be working really well.”
How Ember Copilot Improved Dr. Creech’s Workflow: Ember Copilot provided several tangible benefits to Dr. Creech and his practice:
- Drastic Time Savings:
- “I did 70 notes in an hour instead of three or four hours.”
- Eliminated repetitive dictation, allowing him to focus on patient care.
- Improved Accuracy in Note Generation:
- Ember Copilot accurately captures medical terminology and details in orthopedic cases.
- “It does a very good job with HPI and recognizing specific terminology, including fracture types and implant names.”
- More Efficient Patient Interaction:
- “I try to make sure that I'm talking to the iPad at the same time, not just the patient, so it understands what to do.”
- Ember allows him to engage with patients without worrying about extensive documentation later.
- Customization & Template Optimization:
- “The templates make it super streamlined, and I want to create even more of them in the future.”
- “I think that it’s learning as I go. When I make changes, it tries to emulate what I do more in the future.”
- Reduction of Unnecessary Documentation:
- Previously, notes included redundant details about surgical risks.
- “The one thing I do want it to stop doing is saying, ‘They discussed surgery and goals, cutting the bone, putting the implant in, and the risks of surgeries…’ I don’t need that in my plan.”
- This was resolved after providing feedback to Ember’s team.
- Integration with Future Billing Automation:
- Dr. Creech is excited about Ember’s potential to automate billing: “If I could just say, ‘Hey, bill this as a level five established,’ and have it do it, that would be awesome.”
- Plans for eliminating unnecessary manual clicks for billing are in Ember’s roadmap.
Future Potential & Recommendations: Dr. Creech sees Ember Copilot as a game-changer for orthopedic surgeons. He believes that with further improvements in billing integration and template refinement, the AI-driven assistant will further revolutionize documentation and workflow management.
For orthopedic surgeons considering AI-powered documentation, Dr. Creech’s advice is simple: “Definitely try it!”
Final Thoughts: The adoption of Ember Copilot at Ozark Orthopaedics demonstrates how AI can significantly streamline orthopedic documentation. By reducing documentation time, improving accuracy, and optimizing workflow, Ember Copilot allows surgeons to focus on what matters most—providing high-quality patient care.
If you're an orthopedic surgeon looking to simplify your documentation and improve efficiency, try Ember Copilot today.
