Ambient AI: A Change Comparable to EHRs

How can health systems help nurses confidently adopt and trust AI? We’ll explore how nurse-led design, clear guardrails (policy, consent, privacy), and intentional change management strategies help when implementing AI solutions that reduce cognitive burden, elevate the patient experience, and meet frontline expectations for safety, control, and transparency.

In this episode of the AI at ViVE series on the BEAT podcast, host Sandy Vance sits down with Angie Curry, BSN, RN, CCDS, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at Microsoft, to discuss how ambient AI is finally giving nurses the technological support they deserve. They chat about everything from the documentation burden nurses face, to the importance of workflow fit in driving adoption, to the critical role of human oversight in building trust with AI. If you're a nurse leader, clinical informatics professional, or healthcare innovator thinking about ambient AI, this episode is a must-listen.

In this episode, they talk about:

• Microsoft developed the first ambient AI solution designed specifically for nurses, integrated with Epic's mobile Rover app
• Nurses spend roughly 40% of their shift on documentation, making them a prime candidate for ambient technology
• The solution captures spoken nurse-patient interactions and converts them into flow sheet-ready documentation for nurse review
• Nurses remain in full control, reviewing and approving all AI-generated content before it enters the patient record
• Trust in AI adoption is less about the technology itself and more about whether it fits naturally into existing nursing workflows
• Ambient listening captures "invisible care" that nurses often skip documenting due to time constraints
• Organizations have seen success with piloting on dedicated innovation units before scaling system-wide
• Documentation habits and language vary across organizations so designing solutions with nurses rather than for them is critical

A Little About Angie:

As a Chief Nursing Informatics Officer at Microsoft, Angie is passionate about transforming the way nurses experience technology. Drawing on years of bedside experience, she understands firsthand the challenges of documentation and the profound impact it has on patient care. Her mission is simple: to help nurses reclaim time for what matters most, caring for patients.

Angie works at the intersection of clinical expertise and innovation, partnering with healthcare leaders to design solutions that feel intuitive, reduce cognitive load, and restore the joy of nursing. From ambient AI to workflow optimization, she believes technology should empower—never overwhelm—the caregivers who keep health systems running.

Two Sentence Summary of Podcast Focus: How can health systems help nurses confidently adopt and trust AI? We’ll explore how nurse-led design, clear guardrails (policy, consent, privacy), and intentional change management strategies can help when implementing AI solutions that reduce cognitive burden, elevate the patient experience, and meet frontline expectations for safety, control, and transparency.