D’Andra D. Bingham, MD, Brings Fun Back into Clinic Days with NextGen Ambient Assist

The Challenge

D’Andra D. Bingham, MD, has been in private practice for obstetric and gynecologic care for over 20 years. She has come a long way—from paper charting to adding an Electronic Health Record (EHR) to now using artificial intelligence (AI) for documentation.

Dr. Bingham has seen many colleagues retire or pursue other careers simply due to the demands of tedious documentation. “Back when we did paper charts, I could finish my charting before I went home,” said Dr. Bingham. “Once the EMR came into our lives, that was over. To just get basic notes done took so long, and many just couldn’t take it.”

But the tides are turning. “I think NextGen Ambient Assist will keep people practicing medicine for a lot longer. It makes it all so much simpler,” said Dr. Bingham. “You click on the patient’s chart in the mobile app and it’s right there in front of you and Ambient Assist has most of the note done for you already.”

Dr. Bingham discovered Ambient Assist when exploring the NextGen Mobile app on her iPad one day. She noticed the Ambient Assist tab, asked her IT specialist about it, did the free trial, and was already hooked. Dr. Bingham now uses Ambient Assist on every clinic day, as a regular, integral part of her busy workflow.

The Solution

Ambient Assist leverages ambient listening to generate a structured SOAP note in seconds by listening to the natural, patient/provider conversation. This note can be reviewed and edited by the provider, and then instantly sent to the patient’s chart in the EHR. “It’s really pretty fun,” said Dr. Bingham. “I’ve had a really good time with it because you come out of the exam room and you look at the note and go, ‘oh my gosh, this is amazing.’ We’ve really enjoyed it at the office.”

For a long time, Dr. Bingham has had two nurses. She needed them for patient turnaround, and often her nurses were helping her complete clinical notes. “I can now do it with one nurse, especially now that I’m not having to bother them to send prescriptions, call patients back, and do things that I can do myself from the app,” said Dr. Bingham. “It may save me the salary of an entire nurse.”

Because of Ambient Assist, Dr. Bingham is also adding new patient slots every day to her clinic. She’s earning more revenue and providing care to more patients.

Dr. Bingham appreciates the convenience of the entire NextGen Mobile app and uses it frequently. Instead of receiving after-hours requests for birth control pill refills and having to either ask her nurses to do it or do it when she’s back on her computer, it’s done in seconds from her phone. It saves her time, saves her nurses time, and patients love the efficiency of care.

The Results

“The NextGen Mobile app is right there at your fingertips,” said Dr. Bingham. “You don’t have to go to your laptop and log in with a VPN. Then load it all. Then wait for it to populate. It’s right there.”

She also uses the app to view her schedule for the day. Her morning routine is to drink her coffee, pull up the NextGen Mobile app, see who’s coming in, and review their histories. It helps her ease into her day and feel more prepared.

As a gynecologist, Dr. Bingham has many long-term patients. Patients that she’s delivered three babies for and has seen for 20 years. Naturally, they do a lot of chit-chatting during the visit. Dr. Bingham notes that Ambient Assist doesn’t pull any of that into the EHR. It leaves out the personal, non-medical chatter and just puts in pertinent facts.

Dr. Bingham has found her own best practices. She says that macros are a real time-saver, and worth entering in. She has over 20 macros that she has entered and believes they are key to achieving the full benefit of Ambient Assist. Additionally, she is grateful for the “Send to EHR” button, which is a more unique feature of this tool. “If I had to copy and paste, that would not save me any time. I use the ‘Send to EHR’ button on every visit,” said Dr. Bingham.

Ambient Assist has transformed Dr. Bingham’s professional life, but also her personal life.

Dr. Bingham travels to her lake house about twice a month with her family. On these weekends, her laptop goes with her every time. “Normally on the weekend I’ll spend four to six hours on Saturday and four to six hours on Sunday, maybe more, charting,” said Dr. Bingham.

But, this has changed since Ambient Assist. “I anticipate I will have an hour’s worth of work to do this weekend. Maybe less. So, this time, I’m not taking my laptop,” said Dr. Bingham. “This is the first time I haven’t taken my laptop with me in seven years. It’s going to be fun.”

Dr. Bingham’s only complaint about using Ambient Assist? “I’m falling seriously behind on my Netflix and Hulu shows because I’m not doing charts for HOURS!”