New Data: MedPearl clinical decision platform improves specialty referrals, boosts productivity, and reduces clinician time spent in the EMR

Results were published in New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst 
 
Renton, Wash. (Aug. 21, 2024) – Data published today in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst reported that MedPearl, a Providence-developed clinician-built clinical decision platform, improves primary care clinician productivity, decreases time waste on administrative tasks and improves the quality of referrals sent to specialists. 
 
The paper details operational outcomes from MedPearl’s use among more than 4,000 active monthly clinician users and shows statistically significant improvement in total productivity, after-hours time spent in the EMR and incremental margin per referral among top users.  
 
“The data shows that human-centered design tools can help ease the burden on clinicians and ensure that only patients who require a specialist are ultimately referred,” said Eve Cunningham, M.D., founder of MedPearl and chief of virtual care and digital health at Providence, one of the nation’s largest health systems. “At Providence, clinicians spent two years developing the MedPearl platform, a comprehensive library of actionable clinical guidance carefully mapped to patient data relevant to a clinical context – bringing knowledge and patient data together on a single screen.  Today, our front-line primary care clinicians can access patient management and referral information for over 730 conditions, thereby super-charging clinical decision making.” 
 
Seventy-two percent of clinician users said the platform improved their clinical management and workups, according to the study. Following system-wide integration, MedPearl achieved a 95% success rate in matching queries to relevant guides, and maintains a high user retention rate, with about 75% of users returning month-to-month.   
 
Founded by Cunningham and made possible by the combined research and development efforts of hundreds of clinicians and engineers at Providence, MedPearl is healthcare’s first intelligent clinical decision engine, created to provide immediate and actionable medical knowledge at the point of care. Leveraging artificial intelligence and a no-code environment, combined with EMR integration, MedPearl has been adopted across Providence’s eight-state footprint.  
 
About MedPearl 
MedPearl is a clinical intelligence engine providing trusted medical knowledge that is easy to access, interactive, and actionable for use at point of care. Built by clinicians, for clinicians, relevant specialized knowledge is personalized at the patient level delivering medical knowledge side by side with patient data from the EMR for better care and more complete patient workups, resulting in improved clinically appropriate access for patients. To learn more about MedPearl, visit medpearl.com.

About Providence 
Providence is a national, not-for-profit Catholic health system comprising a diverse family of organizations and driven by a belief that health is a human right. With 51 hospitals, more than 1,100 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing, and many other health and educational services, the health system and its partners employ more than 129,000 caregivers serving communities across seven states – Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, with system offices in Renton, Wash., and Irvine, Calif. Learn about our vision of health for a better world at Providence.org.