Oracle aims for jargon-busting conversational AI in its patient portal

Healthcare providers have always had their own language, filled with shorthand, jargon, and abbreviations designed to make their lives easier in a fast-paced environment. But it’s not exactly breaking news that patients find the convoluted terminology to be confusing, alienating, and frustrating, especially after years of being promised full and transparent access to their own medical data so they can make more informed decisions. 

Patient-facing communications have gotten better in recent years with the rise of patient portals and the ease of generating and sharing accessible patient education. Yet as recently as 2021, just a tiny fraction of patient education materials (2.1%) met the AMA’s recommendations for being written at a sixth-grade reading level to match the average literacy level of US adults. 

Closing that gap is a challenge, especially as healthcare providers do not always have the time, resources, or staffing to explain complex terms to patients, especially when they’re reading through their records at home. 

Oracle is aiming to change that with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the patient portal, the company announced at its user conference this week. 

A Chat-GPT experience in the patient portal

“Soon, patients using the Oracle Health Patient Portal to view their comprehensive medical records will be able to engage with new AI capabilities to get secure, clear, plain-language explanations of diagnoses, test results, and treatment options,” Oracle said in a press announcement. “They will also be able to ask clarifying questions about their individual medical record directly within the portal.” 

For example, users will be able to ask for definitions of abbreviations, access pieces of information like test results through conversational dialogue, get help with interpreting results, and even use AI to draft messages back to their providers to help prepare for future visits.  

“Delivering ChatGPT-like conversational experiences in the Oracle Health Patient Portal – built on OpenAI frontier models and within Oracle’s secure safeguards – demonstrates how responsible AI can empower patients with more information about their health,” said Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager, Oracle Health and Life Sciences.  

“With advanced conversational AI embedded across a patient’s comprehensive medical record, people can be more proactive in managing their care by asking questions and gaining a deeper understanding of their health. This level of engagement is crucial in helping to keep patients on track with their treatment plans, ultimately supporting better outcomes and a more personalized healthcare experience that builds greater patient satisfaction.” 

Long-time rivals in pursuit of similar goals 

The introduction of the new features follows quickly on the heels of a similar announcement from rival Epic Systems, which introduced its patient-facing AI assistant, Emmie, at its own user conference in August.   

In a LinkedIn post, Epic explained that “Emmie is designed to support patients between visits. Whether it’s explaining test results in easy-to-understand terms, suggesting next steps, or guiding patients through open-ended conversations about their health, Emmie makes it easier for patients to stay on top of their health and walk into the exam room with a clear picture.”  

Emmie is one of several AI agents that will be making their way into Epic’s platform. The company is also bringing in agentic tools to assist with revenue cycle management and provider workflow tasks to foster more seamless experiences across the board. 

A new era for AI in the EHR

The two competing AI offerings mark a major leap forward for agentic AI in a patient-facing capacity, as Oracle and Epic together comprise the majority of the electronic health record (and therefore the patient portal) marketplace. 

With both companies using offerings from OpenAI to power their agents, it will be interesting to see how the vendors take the same fundamental foundation and create different experiences for their users based on their perceptions of patient and provider needs. 

Encouragingly, OpenAI is among the handful of AI companies that recently joined CMS in a pledge to uphold standards of interoperability, utility, and transparency when developing patient-facing conversational AI assistants. The pledge was part of a larger White House push to reinforce the importance of interoperability and patient access to health data. 

For patients, this continued emphasis on simplifying and streamlining their interactions with health data could be a good thing, especially as the public gets more and more familiar with the everyday, AI-infused experiences that are taking over their digital lives.   

However, EHR companies – and their healthcare organization clients – will need to be careful that AI agents are actually useful to their end-users, and remain on the right side of key issues in AI use, such as transparency around decision-making, easy access to qualified humans when requested, and bias-free interactions with diverse populations. 

Jennifer Bresnick is a journalist and freelance content creator with a decade of experience in the health IT industry.  Her work has focused on leveraging innovative technology tools to create value, improve health equity, and achieve the promises of the learning health system.  She can be reached at [email protected].