Teladoc expands Microsoft tie-up to document patient visits with AI

[July 19, 2023]  (Reuters) - Teladoc Health is expanding a partnership with Microsoft to use the tech giant's artificial intelligence services to automate clinical documentation on the telehealth platform, lifting its shares 6% in premarket trade.

The integration of AI including Microsoft's services with technology from OpenAI, owner of viral chatbot ChatGPT, will help ease the burden on healthcare staff during virtual exams, Teladoc said on Tuesday.

The companies have been collaborating since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, when Teladoc integrated its Solo virtual healthcare platform into Microsoft Teams.

Teladoc will now also use Microsoft's Nuance Dragon Ambient eXperience, an AI-powered voice-enabled solution that uses the GPT4 AI service, to automatically document patient encounters for final review and signoff by clinicians.

The Microsoft sign is shown on top of the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 19,2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

"Administrative burden and staff shortages are major reasons why clinicians are leaving the profession," Teladoc's chief medical officer, Vidya Raman-Tangella, said in a statement.

The use of AI is being actively discussed by hospitals and other healthcare providers that suffered from attrition caused by pandemic fatigue. Industries across the board have been looking at integrating AI into their businesses, after the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November fueled interest in the breakthrough technology.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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