Microsoft Expands Dragon Copilot AI for Nurses’ Patient Documentation

The tool, which will be generally available in the U.S. starting December 2025, includes access to medical content and health system protocols specifically designed for nurses’ workflows.

Microsoft has expanded its AI-backed clinical assistant, Dragon Copilot, to support nurses in recording interactions with patients and documenting care. The tool, which will be generally available in the U.S. starting December 2025, includes access to medical content and health system protocols specifically designed for nurses’ workflows.

Mary Varghese Presti, corporate vice president and chief operating officer at Microsoft Health and Life Sciences, said, “Physicians document very differently. What we built here for nurses is not a rinse and repeat of that.”

The move comes amid growing concerns over administrative burdens on clinicians. AI-powered documentation tools are increasingly being used to reduce off-hour workloads and streamline patient care processes. Nurses’ documentation differs from physicians’ narrative-style records as they frequently enter data into discrete fields while moving between patient rooms.

Pilot Programs and Workflow Enhancements

Dragon Copilot organizes nurse-patient interactions into flowsheet documentation, allowing nurses to pause recordings, review for accuracy, and make edits before transferring notes to the electronic health record (EHR). Presti added, “The nurse decides, do I want to edit something? Do I want to append something? So there’s an opportunity for the nurse to take a look, review, and then hit transfer to the EHR.”

Advocate Health in Charlotte, North Carolina, began piloting the tool in April with 20 nurses on one unit and plans to expand to other hospitals next month. Betty Jo Rocchio, chief nurse executive at Advocate Health, said, “It gives them more time at the bedside with patients, forming the relationship. Nobody goes into nursing saying, ‘Wow, I hope I get my documentation. I hope I can spend more time with this computer.”

The AI assistant helps nurses complete documentation more quickly and reduces cognitive load, allowing them to focus on patient care.

Third-Party Integration and Clinical Content

Microsoft announced that third-party developers can now create apps and AI agents integrated with Dragon Copilot for areas including revenue cycle management, patient experience, and virtual care. Clinical content will be available through platforms such as OpenEvidence and Wolters Kluwer’s UpToDate, providing nurses with accessible references within the workflow.

The expansion follows Microsoft’s acquisition of Nuance Communications, a documentation technology company, for nearly $20 billion, further strengthening its suite of AI-driven clinical tools.

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