# CHRISTUS HEALTH DECREASES COGNITIVE LOAD BY 78% WITH ABRIDGE

## Overview

**Health system**: International, not-for-profit  
**# of Clinicians**: 15,000  
**Headquarters**: Texas

CHRISTUS Health, an international, not-for-profit health system in Texas, creates innovative health and wellness solutions that improve the lives of individuals and communities. Excessive time spent on desk work, particularly documentation for patient visits and the cognitive overload associated with it has been the biggest burden. Following a highly successful 2-month pilot aimed at improving physician well-being and delivering the best possible care to patients, CHRISTUS Health has decided to roll Abridge out enterprise-wide.

## Impact

when asked about clinical documentation with abridge, clinicians at CHRISTUS Health have seen:

### 78%  
reduction in cognitive load  
  
**Cognitive load** is the amount of mental effort to complete a task. Research shows when clinicians are cognitively overloaded, there is a higher risk of burnout and medical harm to patients.

### 40%  
decrease in burnout rate  
  
Using the evidence-based burnout tool, Mini-Z.

### 41%  
increase in clinicians giving undivided attention

## Clinician Stories

“Abridge has been a game changer. I feel much less distracted with patients since I can focus on the conversation and history without pausing to take extensive notes or re-ask questions I missed during notetaking.”  
**Dr. Myriah Willborn**  
*Family Medicine*

“I used to be chronically late closing my encounters, but with Abridge, I now finish them by the time we close our doors, greatly improving my home life.”  
**Dr. Michael McKinney**  
*Family Medicine*

“I no longer dread complicated patient visits with >5 problems. Now, I can listen and discuss with patients without scrambling to record their symptoms and concerns. Many patients have also commented on the helpfulness of the Abridge-generated patient visit summary.”  
**Dr. Marian Hendricks**  
*Family Medicine*

“I finish all of my notes during my clinic, which I haven’t done in years. It seems like Abridge may be the answer to the problem of getting notes done!”  
**Dr. Blake Cross**  
*Family Medicine*

## Vision

From **Dr. TimothY Barker**  
*Ambulatory CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATION OFFICER*

“It is going to be more transformative than anything I have seen in the last 20 years.
We started our work with Abridge with the intent to pilot another ambient solution. Time and time again, physicians have told me that Abridge is ‘life changing,’ so we signed an enterprise deal which we believe is going to transform clinical practice for our ambulatory physicians. 
With an implementation that took only 8 days and ease of onboarding, our team created an even more supportive working environment for our clinicians. The outcomes were profound, with clinicians reporting reduced cognitive load, decreased burnout, and the ability to provide undivided attention to patients. 
Looking ahead, our goal is to deploy Abridge Inside across all primary care physicians and residents. This initiative will ensure that residents are trained in a manner that reflects the future of medical practice, equipping them with the tools they need to deliver exceptional healthcare.