Nationally-renowned OrthoIndy uses the Saykara mobile AI assistant to liberate doctors from EHR documentation

New technology powered by artificial intelligence has allowed the Indianapolis-based orthopedic practice to eliminate after-hours charting and restore work-life balance.

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AI–Before adopting the Saykara mobile AI assistant, Kara, many doctors at OrthoIndy spent evenings or weekends catching up on documentation. Now, they enjoy a renewed sense of work-life balance.

“The Saykara solution has been very helpful in reducing the amount of time it takes our doctors to complete their documentation, which in turn has alleviated the stress that comes with falling behind or having scarce few hours for themselves and their families,” says Timothy Dicke, MD, president and CEO of OrthoIndy. “Technology that allows our doctors to focus their time and attention on delivering high-quality care is a direct reflection of our organizational mission and our commitment to patients.”

The voice-enabled Kara app can be used in two primary modes. In the ambient mode, Kara listens in real time to a conversation between the doctor and patient during an on-premise or telehealth encounter. In recap mode, Kara listens to a brief reflective summarization the doctor dictates following an encounter. Kara’s underlying machine learning algorithms interpret and transform salient content required for notes, orders, referrals and more, which is then automatically populated to the electronic health record (EHR) system. OrthoIndy uses the TouchWorks EHR from Allscripts.

“Most everyone has heard of artificial intelligence, or AI, but I suspect most people don’t understand what it is unless they work in the tech field,” says Mahir Patel, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at OrthoIndy. “All I know is, it makes my life so much easier. Not only has it saved me two and a half hours a night, I’m no longer tied to a computer and staring at a screen. I can give my full attention to my patients, and I even have time during visits to talk with them about their vacations, grandkids or restaurants they recommend. And when all is said and done, I get a detailed, structured note with very little time and effort on my part.”

Burnout among healthcare providers is an undeniable epidemic, and the documentation burden is a leading contributor. A study published in the Annals of Medicine observed that doctors spend nearly twice as much time doing administrative tasks as they do seeing patients: 49 percent versus 27 percent.

Kosmas Kayes, MD, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at OrthoIndy, says, “The worst part of our job is trying to keep up with the documentation, it’s just unbelievably time consuming. Since I’ve been using Kara, I can go home at the end of the day and be done instead of worrying that I’m behind and having to spend hours on the weekend catching up.”

The Kara app is compatible with any iOS computing device. No special hardware or listening apparatus is required, the solution is completely portable. Most doctors at OrthoIndy use the Kara app on their iPhone. “I can use Kara anywhere, anytime, which is great,” says Renn Crichlow, MD, an orthopedic trauma surgeon at OrthoIndy. “I use it in the office, I use it in my car, I use it in the OR and I use it when I’m walking down the hallway between patients.”

He adds, “It has given me so much freedom, I feel like a weight has been lifted and I can get a lot more done.”

Watch a video about OrthoIndy’s experience with Kara.

About Saykara

Saykara is combatting burnout and elevating productivity among physicians through its fully ambient and autonomous AI-powered assistant. Use of the company’s voice-enabled mobile app, Kara, is proven to reduce time spent charting by 70%, eliminate after-hours charting by 100%, and enhance note quality and completeness by 25%. Additionally, by freeing physicians from their keyboards and relieving them of burdensome data entry, patients enjoy more personalized, less hurried visits. Kara is specialty agnostic, scalable at the enterprise level and available through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription. For additional information, visit www.saykara.com.

About OrthoIndy

Founded over 50 years ago, OrthoIndy is one of the most highly respected orthopedic practices in the Midwest. With over 80 physicians providing care to central Indiana residents from more than 10 convenient locations, OrthoIndy provides leading-edge bone, joint, spine and muscle care. OrthoIndy is the official orthopedic provider for the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever. OrthoIndy’s sports medicine team provides care to Butler University, Marian University, Franklin College and Dance Kaleidoscope, as well as local high schools.

Owned and operated by OrthoIndy physicians, OrthoIndy Hospital is central Indiana’s first specialty hospital with a direct focus on bone, joint, spine and muscle care and the most technologically advanced facility available for orthopedics in the Midwest. As a physician-owned hospital model, OrthoIndy Hospital’s top priorities are patient safety, satisfaction and outcomes.

Quality patient care serves as the foundation for the physician-owned and operated hospital, which is evident in the ratings received from Press Ganey Associates LLC and Healthgrades. From 2013 to 2019, OrthoIndy Hospital was named a Guardian of Excellence Award winner for consistently achieving the 95th percentile of performance in patient satisfaction. From 2009 to 2012, OrthoIndy Hospital was named the Summit Award Winner for sustaining the highest level of customer satisfaction for three or more consecutive years. In 2020, OrthoIndy Hospital was named the Healthgrades 2020 Patient Safety Excellence Award winner for achieving the top 5% of all short-term acute care hospitals reporting patient safety data as evaluated by Healthgrades. From 2014 to 2020, Healthgrades named OrthoIndy Hospital a Five-Star Recipient for Spinal Fusion Surgery and Total Hip Replacement. From 2008 to 2020, Healthgrades named OrthoIndy Hospital a Five-Star Recipient for Total Knee Replacement.

For more information on OrthoIndy, please call 317.802.2000 or visit us at OrthoIndy.com.

Contacts

Joy Efron

Vice President Marketing

Saykara

jefron@saykara.com
425-298-5202