New AI solution cuts down on manual data entry of patient medication information to the EHR

US-based WellSky has thrown a lifeline to overburdened home health clinicians with its latest AI marvel, WellSky Extract. Designed to lighten the load of medication reconciliation, this cutting-edge tool slices documentation time by more than half.

Early adopters are already raving, with one calling it a "game-changer" for its ability to shift time from keyboard to bedside. It's not just another tech gadget; it's a beacon of hope in a sea of paperwork.

How does it work?

Think of WellSky Extract as a digital detective. This smart tool dives into the chaos of referral documents, scribbled medication lists, and even snapshots of prescription bottles. Armed with Google's Vertex AI platform and the Gemini models, it deciphers the mess and neatly plugs key medication details directly into the patient's electronic health record (EHR). There's still room for human oversight, but the heavy lifting? That's all on the AI.

Here's the kicker: it's baked right into WellSky's Home Health EHR workflow. Clinicians save an average of 12 minutes per patient, trimming the reconciliation process down to a slick 8 minutes. That's time clinicians can now spend where it matters most — with their patients.

Why does it matter?

Imagine juggling 13 medications for every patient and spending nearly 20 minutes manually inputting details for each one. That's the reality for many home health clinicians today. Enter WellSky Extract, cutting that time by 60%.

Haley Brown of Concierge Home Care summed it up perfectly: "We've already seen significant benefits — the most important being the increase in valuable time our clinicians are spending caring for patients instead of doing manual data entry."

Clinician burnout is a real beast, driving many skilled workers out of the field. By lifting the burden of administrative drudgery, WellSky is not just saving time; it's saving careers. And, let's not forget, happier clinicians mean better care for patients.

The context

The healthcare industry is facing a storm of challenges: clinician burnout, staffing shortages, and an aging population with complex medication needs. Manual medication reconciliation is one of those tasks that's been crying out for innovation. WellSky saw the problem and tackled it head-on with WellSky Extract.

This tool is just the beginning. Future enhancements, like WellSky Scribe for transcription and WellSky Summarize for medical record synthesis, promise even greater efficiencies.

Wes Little, WellSky's Chief Analytics Officer, nailed it when he said, "AI tools like WellSky Extract can make a huge difference in streamlining administrative duties and freeing clinicians from burdensome after-hours work that affects their job satisfaction."

And that's exactly what healthcare needs right now.