Novant Health Deploys AI Across Epic EHR

Overview: A Major AI Milestone in EHR

More than 19,000 Novant Health team members now actively use AI features embedded in the health system’s Epic electronic health record (EHR). This milestone reflects a broader, deliberate strategy to cut administrative burden and fix the workflow inefficiencies that health system leaders increasingly link to clinician burnout.

Novant Health, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., is not treating this as a routine technology upgrade. Instead, leaders frame it as a fundamental shift in how clinicians experience their work every day. Furthermore, the scale of adoption — spanning thousands of team members across departments — signals that the organization has moved well beyond pilot programs into full deployment.

Why This Is a Clinician Experience Story

The Leadership Perspective

Onyeka Nchege, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer at Novant Health, draws a sharp distinction between technology deployment and human impact. He stresses that the EHR strategy centers on people, not platforms.

“Our approach to optimizing the electronic health record is about much more than viewing it simply as a technology function,” Mr. Nchege told Becker’s Hospital Review. “It’s about creating a better experience for the clinicians and teams who care for our patients every day.”

Moving Beyond Technology-Centric Thinking

Many health systems treat EHR upgrades as IT projects. Novant Health, however, positions AI adoption as a clinical workforce strategy. The goal is not to add more technology. Rather, it is to make existing workflows faster, smarter, and less cognitively draining for clinicians.

This distinction matters. Technology adoption without workflow alignment often increases, rather than reduces, clinician fatigue. Novant’s approach prioritizes strategic implementation over volume of tools.

How Novant Tracks EHR Usage and Burnout

A Data-Driven Monitoring Framework

Novant Health measures EHR performance through a structured monitoring framework. This framework tracks key indicators such as:

• Time spent on messages and order management
• Work completed outside of scheduled hours (a key signal of after-hours burden)
• Cognitive load indicators tied to documentation complexity

These metrics give the organization a clear picture of where clinicians lose time and where burnout risks are highest. Consequently, leaders can target interventions where they will have the most impact.

“Those insights help us identify opportunities to reduce cognitive load, improve efficiency, and address factors that can contribute to burnout,” Mr. Nchege said.

Why After-Hours Work Matters

After-hours EHR activity — often called “pajama time” in healthcare — is a well-documented driver of clinician dissatisfaction. By monitoring this metric, Novant Health connects technology performance directly to workforce wellbeing. This data-driven approach ensures that AI deployments deliver measurable relief, not just new features.

Ambient Documentation: Reducing the Documentation Burden

Already in Active Use

Ambient documentation is one of the AI tools already running at scale within Novant Health’s EHR environment. This technology listens to patient-clinician conversations and auto-generates clinical notes, removing a major source of after-visit documentation work.

Novant Health cites ambient documentation as a key tool for giving clinicians more time at the point of care. Mr. Nchege is clear that the tool is not an add-on. It is a deliberate component of an evidence-based deployment strategy.

Strategy Over Technology Volume

“Technology alone does not determine retention,” Mr. Nchege said, “but inefficient workflows can significantly impact the clinician experience, which is why our strategy is focused on strategic implementations rather than simply adding more technology.”

This principle guides the entire AI deployment at Novant. Each tool must demonstrate impact before it earns a place in the clinical workflow. As a result, adoption is purposeful rather than reactive.

Interoperability as a Foundational Strategy

Connected Data Powers Better AI

Interoperability sits alongside AI as a core enabler of Novant Health’s strategy. The health system aims to give care teams a complete, connected view of each patient’s health — across departments, facilities, and external systems.

Mr. Nchege directly links interoperability to AI effectiveness. AI tools, he notes, perform best when the underlying data infrastructure is connected and complete. A fragmented data environment limits what AI can do, no matter how advanced the model.

Why the Two Priorities Are Linked

Together, AI and interoperability form a reinforcing cycle. Better data makes AI tools more accurate. More accurate AI tools make clinicians more confident in their outputs. This confidence, in turn, drives higher adoption and greater workflow efficiency across the organization.

For health system leaders watching Novant’s progress, this integrated approach offers a replicable model. Investing in AI without investing in data connectivity leaves significant value on the table.

The Future EHR: Invisible and Intelligent

A System of Intelligence and Orchestration

Mr. Nchege describes a vision for the EHR that is radically different from today’s reality. In his view, the EHR of the future will not feel like a system clinicians log into. Instead, it will work silently in the background — orchestrating data, surfacing insights, and supporting decisions without adding friction.

“We expect the electronic health record to evolve into a system of intelligence and orchestration,” he said. “Ultimately, our goal is for technology to become less visible — working in the background to support clinicians, strengthen care coordination and enable more meaningful interactions between patients and their care teams.”

What This Means for Digital Transformation

This vision positions the EHR as infrastructure rather than interface. Clinicians interact with patients; the technology handles the administrative and analytical work behind the scenes. Moreover, this shift aligns with where leading health systems are heading as AI capabilities mature and interoperability standards improve.

Novant Health’s digital transformation strategy, therefore, is not about replacing clinicians with technology. It is about removing technology friction so clinicians can focus on what matters most: direct patient care.

Key Takeaways for Health System Leaders

Novant Health’s AI deployment in Epic EHR offers several lessons worth noting:

1. Scale matters — 19,000+ active users shows that enterprise-wide AI adoption is achievable with the right rollout strategy.
2. Measure what hurts — Tracking after-hours work and cognitive load connects technology investment to workforce outcomes.
3. Ambient documentation delivers — Tools that reduce documentation burden at the point of care show clear clinician experience benefits.
4. Interoperability enables AI — Connected data infrastructure is a prerequisite for effective AI performance.
5. Vision drives adoption — A clear long-term narrative (the “invisible EHR”) helps align teams around digital transformation goals.

Health system leaders looking to replicate Novant’s results should start with workflow pain points, not technology features. AI adoption succeeds when it solves real problems that clinicians face every day.