Hospital for Special Surgery Partners with Abridge to Enhance Orthopedic AI Documentation
The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), recognized as the top orthopedic health system globally, has teamed up with Abridge to improve clinical documentation and communication. This collaboration focuses on delivering advanced orthopedic care documentation directly at the point of conversation, benefiting around 200,000 patients each year.
HSS serves a diverse patient base, including athletes from over 100 professional sports teams and patients from every U.S. state and more than 100 countries. Performing over 40,000 surgeries annually and maintaining the nation’s lowest orthopedic readmission rates, HSS provides an ideal setting for Abridge’s ambient listening technology, which helps clinicians document care more efficiently and accurately.
Advancing Documentation with AI and Orthopedic Expertise
Dr. Ashis Barad, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at HSS, highlights that ambient scribing was just the start. The partnership aims to significantly improve the quality of clinical notes and communication, ultimately enhancing patient outcomes. Abridge’s AI platform is developed with a deep understanding of orthopedic care needs, making it a valuable collaborator for HSS.
The Abridge AI platform is tailored to the complexities of orthopedic surgical documentation. HSS’s patient-focused care approach aligns well with Abridge’s specialty-specific documentation and revenue cycle management technology, supporting highly individualized treatment plans.
Improving the Patient Experience Through Ambient AI
Dr. Answorth Allen, Associate Surgeon-in-Chief and sports medicine surgeon at HSS, explains that Ambient AI quietly captures clinical conversations in real-time. This technology allows physicians to spend more time engaging with patients instead of managing paperwork or screens. It’s an innovation that enhances the human side of healthcare.
Abridge automatically detects the care setting, specialty, and language during each clinician-patient interaction. It generates accurate clinical documentation in real time across outpatient, inpatient, and emergency department settings. Supporting over 55 specialties and 28 languages, Abridge works seamlessly in the background, letting clinicians focus on patient care.
Upcoming Orthopedic Documentation Enhancements
The new orthopedic specialty documentation features will build on Abridge’s proven AI platform combined with HSS’s unmatched orthopedic knowledge. These improvements will capture critical details such as imaging, laterality, risks, and treatment options more comprehensively. This leads to clearer clinical notes, better coding accuracy, and more efficient workflows.
Dr. Shiv Rao, CEO and Co-Founder of Abridge, emphasizes the focus on delivering documentation that meets the dual needs of clinical accuracy and billing. Specialty-focused institutions like HSS play a key role in driving scalable innovations that benefit a broader range of healthcare providers.
About Abridge
Founded in 2018, Abridge offers an enterprise-grade AI platform that converts medical conversations into clinically useful and billable documentation at the point of care. This reduces administrative burden and clinician burnout while improving the patient experience. With deep integration into electronic health records (EHR), Abridge supports over 28 languages and 50 specialties across various care settings.
Abridge’s platform stands out by linking AI-generated summaries to source data, enabling clinicians to verify information quickly. The company has earned multiple accolades, including Best in KLAS 2025 for Ambient AI, inclusion in the Forbes 2025 AI 50 List, TIME’s Best Inventions of 2024, and Fortune’s 2024 AI 50 Innovators.
About Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)
HSS is the leading academic medical center focused on musculoskeletal health. It has been ranked No. 1 in orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report for 15 consecutive years and recognized globally as a top orthopedic institution. Founded in 1863, HSS boasts the lowest orthopedic readmission rates in the U.S. and consistently low infection and complication rates.
HSS is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College and operates facilities in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Florida. Beyond patient care, HSS leads research, innovation, and education in musculoskeletal health. Its Research Institute includes 20 labs focused on tissue repair and regeneration, while the Innovation Institute fosters new therapeutics and devices. The Education Institute provides training and knowledge to clinicians and consumers worldwide.
This collaboration between HSS and Abridge marks a significant step toward more efficient and accurate orthopedic documentation, supporting better clinical outcomes and streamlined workflows.
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