Data-Driven Results and AI Take Center Stage at State of ACCORDS

Among a wide range of achievements and pace-setting work from the different Cores, primary investigators (PIs), and units across Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS) celebrated at the recent State of ACCORDS event, a presentation demonstrating measurable gains for clinicians’ well-being showcased the center’s impact in action.

Katy Trinkley, PharmD, PhD, associate professor of family medicine, and director of the Learning Health Systems (LHS) core at ACCORDS, introduced an ambient AI scribe pilot program whose early results showed a reduction in burnout among clinicians, transforming AI in this case from what Trinkley dubbed “hype” to evidence.

In addition to the success of the pilot program, ACCORDS celebrated a year of achievements that included a record-breaking number of grant submissions and a 113% ROI for investigators and their departments when grants were routed through the center.

Reducing clinician burnout with ambient AI

Clinician burnout is a widespread challenge in the medical field, one that’s exacerbated by documentation burden, with financial and workforce-related consequences for health systems.

“Replacing one clinician on average can cost $500,000 to $1 million, so the tangible costs of burnout are real,” Trinkley noted when discussing the importance of clinician retention. And while AI is often presented as a solution to many modern challenges, it’s rare to see it combined with real-world evidence, especially in medical settings — which is exactly what the multi-institutional pilot set out to achieve.

With partners across UCHealth, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and the CU Anschutz School of Medicine, Trinkley and the LHS team examined the impact the Abridge AI tool had on clinicians’ day-to-day work during a six-month trial.

The data demonstrated remarkable outcomes, including:

• Reduction in clinician burnout
• Increased retention
• Decrease in documentation time per visit — 2.2 minutes saved per visit, which adds up to more than 100 hours per clinician each year

The qualitative data was equally impressive, with one clinician reporting a feeling of relief and crying when they realized, “it’s five o’clock, I’m done” without needing to spend additional time documenting in the electronic health records.

With these results in hand, the pilot demonstrated to leadership and administrators the value of the ambient AI listening tool as an operational reality that could ease clinician burnout.

ACCORDS reports record grant activity and research ROI

In addition to the ambient listening AI pilot, the State of ACCORDS highlighted broader achievements the center made in the most recent fiscal year, including:

• For every $1 of indirect funds ACCORDS received from a funded National Institute of Health (NIH) grant routed through ACCORDS, the investigator and their department receive up to $2 in resources (e.g. services for pre- and post-awards, consultations with Cores, educational opportunities) in return — or a 113% ROI
• 110 grant submissions, which broke the record number set by the previous five years
• Ranked sixth “most funded” department, center, or institute in the CU Anschutz School of Medicine
• Received first philanthropic gift made to ACCORDS in the amount of $100,000
• Jodi Holtrop, PhD, professor of family medicine and co-director of the Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) core; Monica Jolles, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics; Hillary Lum, MD, PhD, professor of geriatric medicine and director of the Training, Education, and Mentoring (TEaM) core; and Jamie Feinstein, MD, MPH/MSPH, professor of pediatrics shared how Cores and studies in ACCORDS are significantly advancing our I4 vision of Inclusion, Integration, Innovation, and Identity.
• Review more outstanding progress and outcomes by viewing the newly released annual report

Special thanks to the speakers and presenters at the event, including Jerica Berge, PhD, MPH, LMFT, CFLE, Jodi Holtrop, Monica Jolles, Katy Trinkley, Hillary Lum, and Jamie Feinstein.