Before meeting with patients, doctors often face the challenge of quickly understanding why a patient is seeking care. With medical histories that can include years of test results, scans, treatments, and referrals, reviewing this information can be time-consuming.
Penn Medicine has introduced Chart Hero, a generative artificial intelligence tool developed by the Center for Health Care Transformation and Innovation (CHTI) in collaboration with the Penn Medicine Data and Technology Solutions (DTS) team and clinical leaders. Chart Hero is designed to help clinicians efficiently gather and synthesize relevant patient data from electronic health records through a chat-based interface.
Clinicians can use Chart Hero as a sidebar within the electronic health record system to collect and interpret pertinent patient information in just minutes. This process replaces the need to manually search through multiple sections of a patient's chart.
“It saves so much time that I would spend very inefficiently searching for an answer to my questions,” said Tessa Cook, MD, PhD, associate professor of Radiology and vice chair of Practice Transformation at Penn Medicine. “There was a day when it wasn’t available, and I thought, ‘I have to figure all of this out by myself? Are you kidding?’”
According to Srinath Adusumalli, MD, MSHP, MBMI, chief health information officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and associate professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Penn Medicine’s integrated platform gives Chart Hero access to diverse data across multiple counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. “We have most of our offices and hospitals on the same platform, on the same set of pipes that have powered all of the other apps our teams have created for years,” Adusumalli said. “Chart Hero is built on data that’s diverse and extensive. And when you combine our team’s experience with that data advantage, an EHR-embedded product like Chart Hero is going to deliver deeper, more contextualized insights.”
The use of AI in medicine has often focused on radiology tasks such as identifying tumors or measuring organs. However, Cook noted that many large language model tools lack clinical context. She explained that Chart Hero provides immediate summaries relevant to her needs: “I can just type, ‘Why is the patient here for a cardiac MRI?’ and get a summary of their cardiac history and work-up to date. Or I can ask, ‘Have they had gastric bypass surgery?’ Because sometimes it’s not obvious from their chart or recent imaging...and Chart Hero can figure that out for me right away. That helps me and the patient.”
Cook estimated that using Chart Hero can save up to two hours per day otherwise spent reviewing charts.
Adusumalli also highlighted efficiency gains: “Just recently, I had a patient schedule at 8:30 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. visit...all I had to do was click one button in Chart Hero and then I knew everything I had to know.” He added that previously this process would require significant time from both nurses and physicians.
Chart Hero supports Penn Medicine’s broader strategy to simplify care delivery through technology. It complements other initiatives such as ambient listening—an AI scribe used by over 1,200 providers at Penn Medicine—which automates note-taking during visits.
“Imagine you’re a clinician seeing a new patient: You want to get up to speed, so you can use Chart Hero to generate a summary,” Adusumalli said. The summary guides the visit while ambient listening records notes.
Looking ahead, developers hope similar tools could eventually assist patients directly by helping them clarify their concerns before appointments.
“This is technology supporting a visit end-to-end,” Adusumalli said. “And it makes it so we can just take care of people.”
Currently being piloted among 30 clinicians—up from 10 in August 2025—Chart Hero is not yet available system-wide at Penn Medicine. Developers are addressing challenges such as AI-generated errors or "hallucinations." Damien Leri, senior principal engineer at CHTI stated: “To combat errors, we’ve made it so that the AI ties every statement to chart data and clinicians have one-click access to source material.” A secondary AI audit is also being tested.
Lauren Hahn, MBA, senior director of product management at CHTI emphasized ongoing development: “We’re not just providing tech and walking away...How do we introduce this into clinicians’ workflows...in a way that is human-centered and easy to approach?”
Raina Merchant, MD, MSHP executive director of CHTI added: “Technology only matters if people are willing to use it and use it over time...With Chart Hero our goal isn’t just accuracy; it’s creating something clinicians reach for because it makes their day easier and helps them take better care of patients. That’s the kind of change that is sustainable and lasts.”
