Frequently Asked Questions

Whetstone for Dragon Copilot — FAQ

Communication intelligence for health systems using Microsoft Dragon Copilot.

The Basics

What is Whetstone?

Whetstone is a communication-intelligence platform built by a practicing family physician. It analyzes the patient encounters your Dragon Copilot ambient scribe already captures and turns every visit into private, evidence-based coaching for each clinician — plus de-identified analytics for the organization.

How does it work with Dragon Copilot?

Dragon Copilot documents the encounter as part of your existing workflow. Whetstone analyzes that encounter and returns a communication snapshot the moment the note is ready: what worked, what to work on, and one key moment — rephrased. There are no recordings to make, nothing to upload, and no change to the clinical day.

Do clinicians have to do anything differently during visits?

No. If a clinician already uses Dragon Copilot, Whetstone requires zero additional steps during the encounter. Feedback, practice, and analytics are available in the browser whenever the clinician chooses.

What does scoring measure?

Every visit is scored against more than 30 published communication frameworks — motivational interviewing (MITI-anchored), delivering serious news (SPIKES), responding to emotion (NURSE), error disclosure (CANDOR), shared decision-making, and more — along with concrete encounter habits like agenda-setting, patient-friendly language, and teach-back confirmation. Scoring anchors are calibrated against expert-coded clinical encounters, and every score cites the transcript lines that produced it.

Is this CME?

Yes — clinicians earn up to 20 hours of AAFP CME through the Whetstone practice modules, motivational interviewing and hard conversations. Deep-dive encounter analyses are structured as reflective learning activities built on the same validated frameworks.

Privacy & Trust

Can administrators see individual clinicians' feedback?

No. Individual coaching and scores are private to each clinician. Organizational dashboards show de-identified aggregates by department and service line. Whetstone is a coaching tool, not a surveillance tool — that separation is built into the architecture, not a policy setting.

How is patient data handled?

Encounter analysis operates on the documentation your scribe already produces. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, access is role-scoped and audit-logged, and a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is available for enterprise deployments. Security documentation is available for your review during procurement.

What does IT need to deploy?

Whetstone is browser-based — no installs, no new hardware, no EHR integration project. A network whitelisting guide for hospital IT is available at whetstone.health/hospital-it.

Practice & Training

What happens after a clinician gets feedback?

Feedback becomes practice. Comprehensive modules teach each skill, then clinicians rehearse with AI patients that talk back — by chat or by voice — with a coach that steps in the moment technique slips. Any scenario, any difficulty, any hour.

Can clinicians choose what to work on?

Yes. Each clinician picks the habits they want to build — setting an agenda, plain language, confirming understanding, and more — and every subsequent visit is checked automatically against those goals.

Purchasing

How is Whetstone priced?

Encounter Feedback — $39/month per clinician: the communication snapshot on every visit, deep-dive encounter analysis, and personal data analytics. Coaching & Analytics — $49/month per clinician: adds the full practice suite — comprehensive modules and AI patients by chat or voice — plus de-identified departmental and executive analytics, admin console, and priority support. Every plan starts with a 1-month free trial with full access. Volume pricing is available for large deployments.

Does a marketplace purchase count toward our Microsoft commitment?

Yes — enterprise agreements can be structured as MACC-eligible private offers, so your Whetstone spend draws down your existing Azure consumption commitment.

How do we get started?

Start a 1-month free trial from the Microsoft Marketplace listing, visit whetstone.health/dragon-copilot, or email [email protected] to set up a walkthrough with our founder. Support is available at whetstone.health/support.

Still have questions?

We'll set up a walkthrough with our founder — a practicing family physician.

Email [email protected]