Microsoft has announced Dragon Copilot, an AI-powered clinical workflow assistant designed to enhance documentation, automate tasks, and improve healthcare efficiency. Part of Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, Dragon Copilot integrates natural language dictation from Dragon Medical One (DMO) with the ambient listening capabilities of Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX), alongside fine-tuned generative AI and healthcare-specific safeguards. The tool aims to reduce clinician burnout and streamline administrative burdens, according to Microsoft's announcement on Monday, March 3, 2025.
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AI Assistant to Streamline Healthcare Workflows
In a blog post, Microsoft noted that clinician burnout in the US declined from 53 percent in 2023 to 48 percent in 2024, partly due to technological advancements. However, with an aging population and persistent burnout across the profession, a significant workforce shortage is projected in the US. "In response, health systems are adopting AI to streamline administrative tasks, enhance care access, and enable faster clinical insights to improve healthcare globally," Microsoft highlighted.
Microsoft Dragon Copilot
Dragon Copilot combines DMO's speech capabilities— which Microsoft says have helped clinicians document billions of patient records— with DAX’s ambient AI technology, which has assisted in over 3 million ambient patient conversations across 600 healthcare organisations in the past month alone. Clinicians using these technologies report saving five minutes per encounter, with 70 percent experiencing reduced burnout and 93 percent of patients reporting better overall experiences, Microsoft reported.
Key features of Dragon Copilot include:
Streamlined Documentation: Multilanguage ambient note creation, automated tasks, AI-driven dictation, customisable templates, and speech memos.
Information Access: AI-powered searches for trusted medical content.
Task Automation: New capabilities allow clinicians to Automate key tasks such as referral letters, after-visit summaries, and clinical note generation.
Clinicians across ambulatory, inpatient, and emergency settings will benefit from Dragon Copilot's interface for navigating electronic health records (EHRs) and reducing administrative strain, Microsoft said.
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Global Rollout
The tool launches in May 2024 in the US and Canada, followed by the UK, Germany, France, and the Netherlands. Microsoft said its healthcare partner ecosystem, including leading EHR providers, software vendors, and cloud service partners, will further enhance Dragon Copilot's capabilities.
"At Microsoft, we have long believed that AI has the incredible potential to free clinicians from much of the administrative burden in healthcare and enable them to refocus on taking care of patients," said Joe Petro, corporate vice president of Microsoft Health and Life Sciences Solutions and Platforms. "With the launch of our new Dragon Copilot, we are introducing the first unified voice AI experience to the market, drawing on our trusted, decades-long expertise that has consistently enhanced provider wellness and improved clinical and financial outcomes for provider organisations and the patients they serve."
"With Dragon Copilot, we're not just enhancing how we work in the EHR — we're tapping into a Microsoft-powered ecosystem where AI assistance extends across our organisation, delivering a consistent and intelligent experience everywhere we work," said R Hal Baker, senior vice president and chief digital and chief information officer, WellSpan Health. "It's this ability to enhance the patient experience while streamlining clinician workflows that makes Dragon Copilot such a game-changer."
"We are aware of the administrative burnout affecting our clinicians, and the need for improved care access for our patients, and the newest evolution of Dragon represents a significant step forward in alleviating this strain," said Glen Kearns, EVP and CIO, The Ottawa Hospital. "We are thrilled to be one of the first customers in Canada to use Microsoft's ambient and generative AI technology. The newest evolution of Dragon Copilot could help alleviate documentation burden for our clinical teams."
