Akron Children's Partners with Abridge, Bringing Joy Back to Pediatrics

Akron Children's, consistently ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the U.S., is expanding use of the Abridge generative AI platform for clinical conversations across pediatric specialties, including primary care, gastroenterology, cardiology, and pediatric psychiatry.

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Following a pilot where Abridge was rigorously tested for performance in unique pediatric environments, clinicians experienced significant reductions in cognitive load, burnout rate, and time spent on administrative tasks.

“In the past, I would type everything the parents said while my patient would be bouncing off the walls,” said Dr. Micah Baird, an Akron Children’s physiatrist. “With Abridge, I play with the child while talking to the parents. Those moments, this is what we do this for. This is why I went into pediatrics: to help kids and families, not to spend half my day typing.”

Pediatric care is unique because medical conversations include clinicians, patients, and their caregivers—and clinicians must connect deeply with both parties to deliver exceptional care. The Abridge Contextual Reasoning Engine, which powers the Abridge platform, was designed to automatically detect multiple speakers as well as care setting, and generate the appropriate clinical and billable documentation. Patients and guardians also receive a Patient Visit Summary, written at an 8th-grade reading level, so they can focus on their children—instead of having to take notes—during the encounter.

“Our clinicians have more freedom to connect more deeply with patients and their families because they are free from the cognitive load of worrying about documentation,” said Dr. Sarah Rush, Akron Children’s Chief Medical Information Officer and a pediatric neuro-oncologist. “Abridge is bringing joy back to our clinicians, which is so important when caring for children.”

Nearly all (93%) Akron Children’s clinicians who used Abridge said that they were able to give patients undivided attention during the visit. They also reported a 73% increase in satisfaction at work.

“Before Abridge, there were times I personally felt burnt out, but when you walk into that room, you want your patients to know you are 100% there for them,” said Dr. Kimberly Shookman, a pediatric primary care provider at Akron Children’s. “Documentation was always the piece that felt like the weight you wished you could get rid of. That’s why I love Abridge. It has made my career more rewarding. I deliver higher-quality care for my patients and my documentation has improved.”

“From ambient audio interference that pediatric clinicians would know better as ‘crying,’ to interactions with patients who are just learning how to express themselves, pediatric specialists face unique challenges during encounters,” said Dr. Shiv Rao, CEO and Founder of Abridge. “It goes without saying that they are heroes. That’s why we designed Abridge to automatically understand the subtleties of pediatric care settings and specialties, and generate excellent clinical documentation.”

About Akron Children’s

Akron Children’s is an independent, nonprofit pediatric health care system that has been caring for children since 1890. With two hospital campuses, seven regional health centers and more than 50 primary and specialty care locations throughout Ohio, it is the only health care system in northeast Ohio fully dedicated to pediatric care. Its vast network of Akron Children’s Pediatrics offices offers convenient access to expert pediatric primary care for patients from infancy through young adulthood. From School-Based Health Care to Quick Care Online virtual visits and Akron Children’s Anywhere app, Akron Children’s makes it easy for today’s busy families to find the high-quality care they need. In 2023, the health care system provided nearly 1.4 million patient encounters and employed more than 7,000 employees. Learn more at akronchildrens.org.

About Abridge

Abridge was founded in 2018 to power deeper understanding in healthcare. The enterprise-grade AI platform transforms medical conversations into clinically useful and billable documentation at the point of care, reducing administrative burden and clinician burnout while improving patient experience. With deep EHR integration, support for 28+ languages, and 50+ specialties, Abridge is used across a wide range of care settings, including outpatient, emergency department, and inpatient.

Abridge’s enterprise-grade AI platform is purpose-built for healthcare. Supported by Linked Evidence, Abridge is the only solution that maps AI-generated summaries to source data, helping clinicians quickly trust and verify the output. As a pioneer in generative AI for healthcare, Abridge is setting the industry standard for the responsible deployment of AI across health systems.

Abridge was recently awarded Best in KLAS for Ambient AI segment in addition to other accolades, including TIME Best Inventions of 2024, 2024 Forbes AI 50 List, and Fortune’s 2024 AI 50 Innovators.

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