Brooklyn’s only academic medical center is the first to leverage the ambient scribe and note generation assistant to ease administrative burdens and restore the patient-provider connection
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Altera Digital Health, a global health IT leader, today announced that University Hospital at Downstate (UHD) is the first organization to leverage Sunrise™ Thread AI, a native ambient scribe and documentation assistant that captures patient-provider conversations in real time and automatically generates a structured clinical note in the Sunrise electronic health record (EHR). Since the pilot launched in May, 50 providers across family medicine, internal medicine, cardiology and the emergency department (ED) at UHD have used the solution in more than 900 patient encounters to enable more focused and connected visits, reduce documentation time and improve note accuracy and completeness.
UHD, the teaching arm of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, offers and provides care for the approximately 3 million residents of Brooklyn, New York, and is the only academic medical center in the borough. UHD turned to its EHR partner of nearly 20 years to help confront industry-wide challenges of provider burnout and click fatigue. With Sunrise Thread AI capturing conversations during the visit, providers can shift their attention away from screens and toward patients to make eye contact and fully engage, enabling more impactful interactions. After the patient encounter, Sunrise Thread AI generates a clinical note that providers review and approve within the EHR, reducing the need for manual, time-consuming data entry.
“Our vision is to be the best place to get and give care, and Sunrise Thread AI supports both aims. The response from our early adopters has been very positive, and there remains high demand and excitement from our clinical staff,” said Dilip Nath, DrBA, MBA, CHCIO, CDH-E, Chief Information Officer, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. “We’ve found the solution to be more robust than others while offering greater ease of use. Bringing this into our providers’ existing Sunrise workflows will make our continued rollout that much more seamless.”
As utilization grows, UHD is tracking usability, transcription and interpretation quality, the impact on documentation workflows and opportunities to enhance the solution. Based on early user feedback, Altera’s Sunrise team is partnering with UHD to build customized templates for its inpatient and ED physicians, underscoring a mutual commitment to continuously improving the provider experience as well as the solution’s adaptability.
“Sunrise Thread AI is a lifesaver, giving our clinicians time back to get home to their families earlier or see more patients, while also ensuring more accurate, complete documentation for future clinical reference and coding and billing,” said Mafuzur Rahman, M.D., FACP, Vice Chairman and Director for Inpatient Services and Chief Medical Informatics Officer, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. “We have nearly one thousand students, interns, residents and fellows with varying degrees of familiarity with the EHR. Sunrise Thread AI will help make it easier to get trainees up to speed so they can focus more on patients and less on learning new workflows as they rotate in and out.”
Sunrise Thread AI was developed intentionally to maintain flexibility, clinical control and compliance. Clinicians can record and save patient conversations from their preferred mobile device and complete note review immediately or later via desktop. Because Sunrise Thread AI is built directly in the EHR, all recordings and conversation data remain secure within UHD’s existing environment, without necessitating new applications or logins for users. Additionally, UHD requires providers to inform patients that their encounters are being recorded to create documentation in their medical records, and patients are informed about the use of AI in their care when giving general consent to treatment.
“IT-induced distractions have compromised time spent with patients and overall provider satisfaction for years. Sunrise Thread AI is our answer to that broken dynamic, bringing human connection back to the center of care,” said Laura Kohlhagen, M.D., Chief Medical Officer for Sunrise, Altera Digital Health. “The Sunrise team is thrilled by the early wins from our pilot with University Hospital at Downstate. We look forward to expanding Sunrise Thread AI at the hospital to improve even more patient and provider experiences.”
Learn more about how Sunrise Thread AI empowers clinicians and transforms patient encounters.
About Altera Digital Health
A global healthcare IT leader, Altera Digital Health develops and elevates technology to bring next-level healthcare within reach. Altera’s approach to our solutions is changing the way healthcare is delivered—we see the summit of what healthcare can be, but rather than total transformation, we’re focused on helping organizations take the steps they need to get there. Altera designs digital health services that lead healthcare to a higher place, while we guide those we partner with, all along the way. To learn more, visit www.alterahealth.com.
About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Downstate Health Sciences University is Brooklyn’s academic medical center and the only SUNY academic medical center in New York City. It serves as a critical hub for healthcare delivery, medical education, and research for Brooklyn’s 2.7 million residents.
University Hospital at Downstate (UHD) delivers high-acuity and community-based care across the borough, supported by more than 800 physicians across 53 specialties and subspecialties. UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant care, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis services, and established Brooklyn’s first kidney transplantation program more than 50 years ago.
Downstate strengthens the healthcare workforce and advances community-based care through its academic programs and clinical training. Its biotechnology initiatives, including the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, drive innovation and economic growth across Brooklyn and New York City.
Contacts
Media Contacts
For Altera Digital Health
[email protected]
For SUNY Downstate
Dawn S. Walker (917) 439-9666 or [email protected]
