WVU Medicine Rapidly Scales Abridge’s AI Platform Across Rural Hospitals and Clinics

SAN FRANCISCO & MORGANTOWN, W.V.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The West Virginia University Health System, which operates under the brand WVU Medicine, is expanding Abridge’s enterprise-grade AI platform for clinical conversations across its multi-state network. The expansion follows clinician-reported gains in well-being and satisfaction that are strengthening retention and patient access across largely rural communities.

After the success of the initial rollout, WVU Medicine, West Virginia’s largest health system and private employer, will deploy Abridge to support more than 2,800 clinicians delivering care across 25 hospitals and dozens of outpatient and acute care settings. WVU Medicine serves 2.5 million patients annually across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland.

“In largely rural and underserved communities, clinician retention is crucial to patient access,” said Dr. David Rich, Chief Medical Information Officer at WVU Medicine. “When documentation burden pushes clinicians toward burnout and early retirement, our communities feel it directly. Abridge is helping our clinicians stay focused on patients instead of paperwork.”

This expansion was driven largely by peer-to-peer clinician advocacy, with clinicians citing a strong preference for Abridge’s note quality and workflow fit compared to other ambient AI solutions.

In a pre- and post-implementation survey, more than 200 clinicians at WVU Medicine reported meaningful improvements, including: 78% increase in undivided attention to patients, 61% reduction in cognitive load, and 77% increase in satisfaction at work.

Clinicians across family medicine, internal medicine, and emergency medicine, as well as urgent and acute care have seen particularly strong adoption, with emerging use cases in specialties such as rheumatology and ophthalmology.

“It has been life changing,” said Dr. Brian Dilcher, Associate Chief Medical Information Officer for Emergency Medicine Informatics. “I no longer spend time outside my scheduled hours documenting. I actually look forward to my shifts.”

Beyond documentation, WVU Medicine is exploring Abridge’s broader conversation intelligence platform, evaluating future use cases in nursing workflows, procedural documentation, and discharge summaries, with a long-term interest in responsibly expanding AI-enabled clinical and operational support throughout the patient care journey.

“What’s powerful about WVU Medicine’s expansion is that clinicians themselves are driving it,” said Dr. Shiv Rao, CEO and Co-Founder of Abridge. “Together, we’re proving that enterprise-scale AI in rural healthcare can improve access and support the clinicians who work hard everyday caring for underserved communities.”

About WVU Medicine

The West Virginia University Health System (WVU Medicine) is a multi-state academic health system headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia, and the state’s largest health system and private employer. Comprised of 25 hospitals and numerous outpatient and specialty care locations, WVU Medicine serves communities across West Virginia and neighboring states. Its mission is to improve the health of West Virginians and all it serves through excellence in patient care, research, and education.

About Abridge

Founded in 2018, Abridge is the leading enterprise-grade AI platform for clinical conversations. Powered by a purpose-built system of intelligence for healthcare, the company is building real-time bridges between patients, providers, and payers. This year, Abridge is projected to support more than 80 million patient-clinician conversations across 250 of the largest and most complex health systems in the U.S. With deep EHR integration, support for 28+ languages, and 50+ specialties, Abridge is used across the entire care journey, including outpatient, emergency department, inpatient, and nursing workflows.

Abridge is setting the industry standard for the responsible deployment of AI across health systems. Features like Linked Evidence map AI-generated clinical documentation to source data, helping clinicians quickly trust and verify the output.

Abridge was awarded Best in KLAS for Ambient AI in 2025 and 2026, in addition to other accolades, including TIME Best Inventions of 2024 and 2025, CNBC Disruptor 2025, and Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies 2025.