How Ambient Listening Is Revolutionizing Bedside Nursing at Tampa General Hospital
By G Hatfield
In addition to AI and virtual nursing, ambient listening is at the forefront of healthcare innovation.
Ambient listening technology in its simplest form records and transcribes conversations between a patient and a clinician during appointments. More complex algorithms that incorporate AI are able to pinpoint key phrases or terminology that can be added to the clinical note.
While this technology benefits physicians, it can also be helpful for nurses, especially those working at the bedside. According to Wendi Goodson-Celerin, executive vice president and chief nurse executive at the Florida Health Sciences Center (FHSC), ambient listening technology gives nurses time back to spend with their patients and allows patients to be more engaged in their care.
“In most organizations, nurses spend a great deal of time charting,” Goodson-Celerin said. “Whether they’re doing it in bulk, charting halfway through their shift, [or] at the end of their shift, it’s a great deal of time…that they could be hands-on working at the top of their license.”
Tampa General’s approach
Tampa General Hospital, one of the organizations in FHSC’s portfolio, partnered with Epic and Microsoft to implement this innovative approach, Goodson-Celerin explained. The nurses can use the tool during their assessments, and the tool can pick out the key elements of the conversation that are important and compile them into the patient’s chart.
“The nurse at the end finishes [their] assessment and…goes to the chart and validates it, hits enter, and it becomes part of the chart,” Goodson-Celerin said.
According to Goodson-Celerin, the physicians at Tampa General are already using ambient listening technology and it’s exciting to have a solution that helps bedside nurses in an intense, fast-paced healthcare setting.
“When we’re looking to see how we can be more efficient and save time, the impact [the technology] has on patient experience and nurse satisfaction, it was a win-win for us,” Goodson-Celerin said. “Why wouldn’t we go with this?”
Overcoming obstacles
Epic and Microsoft are tweaking the tool along the way as more lessons are learned from outcomes and as the tool is scaled, Goodson-Celerin explained. The nurses are also receiving ample training and support as they adjust to using the ambient listening tool. The main difference in workflow is that now, nurses have to narrate each step of their assessment out loud.
“That’s not easy sometimes for nurses to do that,” Goodson-Celerin said. “They want to make sure that they’re absolutely right about everything.”
Patients also may stop the nurse mid-assessment to ask questions about what they are dictating and nurses will have to explain what they mean. Even though it might feel awkward at first, explaining medical terminology further educates the patient and builds a stronger bond with the nurse.
For leadership, it’s important to support the nurses and to hear and evaluate their feedback, and pass it along to the developers so the tool can be tweaked, Goodson-Celerin explained. CNOs must also be ready to address the uncertainties and anxieties surrounding the technology by building confidence and emphasizing the importance of the technology for the future of nursing.
“We have various generations of nurses at the bedside,” Goodson-Celerin said. “Some are very good with technology and some maybe need a little bit more support around that, but overall, they all know the medical records, so this was a new piece for them.”
For CNOs wanting to implement ambient listening in their hospitals or health systems, Goodson-Celerin recommends having the nurses begin narrating their assessments out loud with patients two or three months before it’s officially implemented, to build their comfort level and confidence in using ambient listening while engaging with patients.
“Be bold and do it, it is the future,” Goodson-Celerin said. “It is what we need in our nursing profession to help us be more efficient.”
G Hatfield is the CNO editor for HealthLeaders.