Oracle makes moves in AI and interoperability

Aiming to capture more mindshare (and market share) after acquiring Cerner, Oracle Health is moving ahead with its mission to unify health data in its own unique way.  

Two years after Oracle founder Larry Ellison shared his bold vision for a national EHR database, which was met by some degree of skepticism from veteran interoperability pundits, the company is taking steps to meet the industry where it is instead, by applying to a Qualified Health Information Network (QHIN) under the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). 

A successful application would see Oracle join its main EHR rival, Epic Systems, in the industry’s newest quest to enhance appropriate data sharing across disparate systems and establish a stronger nationwide network of health information exchange. 

“As a longtime champion of giving patients control over their data, Oracle Health continues to demonstrate its commitment to making data more available, useful, and secure,” said Seema Verma, former CMS Administrator and current executive vice president and general manager at Oracle Health and Life Sciences. “As we progress through the TEFCA QHIN application process, Oracle will continue to lead the industry in providing solutions that help reduce costs and complexity and improve the utility of information for patients and providers.” 

Before being sold, Cerner Corporation was an active participant in the earliest attempts at interoperability, including being a founding member of the CommonWell Health Alliance, which was formed more than a decade ago.  Since then, it has worked with frenemy Epic Systems and other key stakeholders to advance data exchange and modernize the digital healthcare ecosystem. 

Now, under the Oracle Health umbrella, the company’s core EHR product is looking to stay ahead of the game in other ways, too. In tandem with the TEFCA announcement, Oracle unveiled its newest EHR features, including cloud-native capabilities and artificial intelligence tools to reduce workflow burdens. 

“One of today’s most important and widely used healthcare technologies, the EHR, has not lived up to its promise,” said Verma. “Most EHRs were built in the 90s and are ill-equipped to meet the complex security requirements and clinical needs of today’s healthcare networks, practitioners, and patients. That is why we are completely reinventing the EHR.” 

The new version will include its Clinical AI Agent, a revamped tool that uses generative AI to provide “comprehensive clinical intelligence with a multimodal voice user interface to automate and unify a wide range of clinical workflows,” the company says.

The tool is designed to draft notes in multiple languages, propose clinical follow-ups, such as lab tests and referrals, and synchronizes data back to the medical record. Oracle also says its agent will be able to extract relevant data from patient notes to automate coding and improve compliance while generating condition-specific medication history and discharge summaries. 

The features mirror some of the capabilities already available in Epic through the company’s partnership with Microsoft, and hence Chat-GPT, that have piqued the industry’s interest but might not be ready to show their full potential just yet. 

Whether Oracle will be playing catch up, keeping pace, or leading the pack after full roll-out of its new tools remains to be seen. But it’s a clear sign that the big vendors are finally taking action to rethink the way clinicians interact with their EHRs…about a decade after users started (and never stopped) voicing their complaints. 

It’s a step in the right direction for the market – if these and other AI–driven capabilities in next–generation EHRs live up to their promises, which only time will tell.   

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 jennifer@inklesscreative.com.