Houston – September 11, 2026 -- Memorial Hermann Health System has cut patient follow-up messages about test results by 32% after deploying Art, an AI-powered documentation assistant built into its Epic electronic health record system.
Clinicians save nine seconds per result comment using AI-drafted notes
Art generates an initial draft patient note in plain language as clinicians review lab and imaging results in Epic's In Basket, replacing complex medical terminology with patient-friendly explanations. Clinicians then review, edit and personalize each draft before sending it to patients. Care teams at Memorial Hermann have used the tool to write more than 55,000 patient messages since adoption began, with clinicians saving an average of nine seconds per result comment when starting from Art's draft.
Pilot launched in December 2025 before system-wide rollout
Memorial Hermann first tested the feature in December 2025 within its innovation clinic to gather clinician feedback, then expanded deployment across the health system. Dr. Ryan Walsh, associate vice president and chief medical information officer at Memorial Hermann, said the tool provides a stronger starting point for informative test-result notes that clinicians can still review, edit and personalize.
Fewer follow-up questions signal improved first-pass patient communication
The 32% drop in follow-up messages indicates patients are receiving clearer answers about what their results mean, how conditions interact and what actions to take at the moment they receive results, rather than needing a second round of clarification. Shashank Raghu, senior director of R&D for Clinical Communications and Mobile Solutions at Epic, said Memorial Hermann's phased approach offers other health systems a model for scaling similar AI tools across clinical teams.