Glass Health vs Abridge — 2026 Comparison

Glass Health pairs ambient scribing with real-time clinical decision support — differential diagnosis, assessment and plan generation, and clinical Q&A — starting free for individual clinicians. Abridge is an enterprise ambient scribe deployed at large health systems, with deep Epic integration, but offers documentation only — no clinical decision support, no real-time clinical insights.

Abridge is an enterprise ambient scribe with deep native integration into Epic, deployed at large health systems. Glass Health takes a different approach: ambient scribing paired with a full clinical decision support layer — real-time clinical insights during encounters (including differential diagnosis, suggested history questions, and potential next steps), structured assessment and plan generation, and clinical Q&A with PubMed citations — starting free and accessible to individual physicians without an IT department.

Key Takeaways

Abridge is an enterprise ambient scribe with deep Epic integration, used at large health systems. It does not generate differential diagnoses, assessment and plans, or clinical reasoning.
Glass Health is the only platform that combines ambient scribing with native clinical decision support — including real-time clinical insights during encounters (differential diagnosis, suggested history questions, and next steps), three-tier differential diagnosis, A&P generation, and clinical Q&A with PubMed citations.
Abridge uses enterprise-only pricing (estimated ~$2,500/clinician/year) and requires IT deployment. Glass Health starts free with its Lite tier and is accessible to individual physicians and small practices.
Both platforms are HIPAA-compliant. Glass Health integrates with Epic, eClinicalWorks, and Athena. Abridge integrates primarily with Epic, with expanding support for athenahealth.

How Does Glass Health Compare to Abridge on Features?

The fundamental difference between Glass Health and Abridge is product scope. Abridge is an enterprise ambient documentation platform — it captures clinician-patient conversations and generates structured notes at scale. Glass Health is an AI clinical platform — it captures conversations, provides real-time clinical insights during the encounter, generates structured differential diagnoses, drafts evidence-based assessment and plans, answers clinical questions with citations to clinical guidelines and medical literature, and produces documentation across six customizable formats.

The U.S. AI medical scribing market was valued at $397 million in 2024 and is projected to grow at a 25.09% CAGR through 2033 (Grand View Research, 2024). Within this market, Abridge focuses on ambient documentation at enterprise scale. Glass Health is the only platform that pairs ambient scribing with a full clinical decision support layer.

Feature	Glass Health	Abridge
Ambient scribing	Yes — real-time listening with live clinical insights during the encounter	Yes — ambient documentation across 55+ specialties
Real-time clinical insights	Yes — surfaces relevant considerations as the visit unfolds	No native CDS; UpToDate reference links surfaced via Wolters Kluwer partnership
Structured differential diagnosis	Yes — three-tier differential: Most Likely, Expanded, Can’t Miss	No
Treatment plan drafts	Yes — evidence-based, problem-by-problem	No
Assessment & plan generation	Yes — problem-based A&P with citations to clinical guidelines	No — captures clinician-spoken plan only
Clinical Q&A	Yes — search of clinical guidelines and medical literature with in-text citations	No
Documentation types	6 customizable types: H&P, Progress Note, Clinic Note, Discharge Summary, Discharge Instructions, Patient Handout	Structured clinical notes, specialty-specific templates (configurable within preset options: A&P style, PE format, specialty templates)
Longitudinal patient encounters	Yes — patient context persists across encounters	Prior encounter context within enterprise EHR only
Deep Reasoning mode	Yes — maximum analytical depth for complex multi-system cases	No
Encounter timeline & summary	Yes — AI-generated encounter summary with chronological timeline	No
Linked Evidence (audit trail)	No	Yes — highlight any text to see source transcript and audio
ICD-10 / coding support	No	Problem prediction aligned to billing codes
EHR integration	Epic, eClinicalWorks, Athena	Epic, athenahealth, Oracle Health (unconfirmed)
Language support	English	28+ languages
HIPAA compliance	Yes — BAA, encryption	Yes — BAA, SOC 2 Type II, 256-bit encryption
Target customer	Individual physicians, small-to-mid practices	Enterprise health systems
Pricing model	Free tier + paid plans ($20-$200/month)	Enterprise-only (~$2,500/clinician/year est.)

What Can Abridge Do Well?

Abridge received Best in KLAS for Ambient AI in both 2025 and 2026 (Abridge Best in KLAS 2026).

Abridge’s core strengths include:

Enterprise scale: Abridge is deployed at large health systems and has an established enterprise deployment track record.
Epic integration: Abridge was one of Epic’s first “Pals” — third-party applications with integration into Epic workflows. It writes notes into Epic’s documentation module and operates within both Haiku (mobile) and Hyperdrive (desktop).
Linked Evidence and audit trail: Clinicians can highlight any AI-generated text in a note and immediately see the supporting evidence from the original transcript — including the ability to play back the exact audio. This transparency layer builds trust and simplifies note review.
28+ languages with auto-detection: Abridge supports 28+ languages including the 16 most-spoken in the U.S. The system auto-detects language without pre-selection and handles code-switching (e.g., mixed English-Spanish conversations), generating the clinical note in English regardless of conversation language.
Clinician outcomes data: A multicenter study found that ambient AI scribes reduced physician burnout from 51.9% to 38.8% in 30 days (Olson et al., JAMA Network Open, 2025). Abridge reports clinicians save approximately 2 hours per day on documentation.
Expanding capabilities: Abridge partnered with Wolters Kluwer to embed UpToDate reference links within AI-generated notes, expanding its documentation-centric platform toward adjacent clinical workflows.

It is worth noting that Abridge’s EHR integration is in service of documentation delivery. The Epic integration does not enable Abridge to generate a differential, reason from patient history, or produce a plan. Those capabilities do not exist in Abridge at any tier.

What Can’t Abridge Do That Glass Health Can?

Abridge has proven that documentation relief works — a multicenter study showed ambient AI scribes cut physician burnout from 51.9% to 38.8% in 30 days (Olson et al., JAMA Network Open, 2025). Abridge captures what the clinician says and delivers it into the chart efficiently. But documentation is half the clinical workload. The harder half — forming a differential, synthesizing evidence, building a treatment plan — is unassisted by any documentation tool, Abridge included.

These are the clinical capabilities that exist in Glass Health and have no counterpart in Abridge:

Clinical insights that happen during the encounter: Abridge listens to an encounter and produces a note once the visit ends. Glass Health surfaces relevant clinical insights as the conversation unfolds — flagging diagnostic considerations, relevant history gaps, and potential next steps while the clinician is still face-to-face with the patient. Abridge does not do this at any tier.
Three tiers of differential diagnosis with actionable next steps: Glass Health separates its differential diagnosis output into Most Likely Diagnoses (pursue immediately), Expanded Differential (investigate if the primary workup is negative), and Can’t Miss Diagnoses (high-morbidity conditions requiring prompt rule-out). Abridge will document a differential if the physician articulates one aloud, but it never independently generates, ranks, or suggests diagnoses. The distinction is fundamental: Abridge transcribes clinical reasoning; Glass Health produces it.
Treatment plan drafts and structured A&P: Glass Health generates a structured A&P — an overall assessment paragraph, individual problem-based assessments, bulleted workup plans, treatment recommendations, and chronic disease management — each grounded in evidence-based guidelines with citations to clinical guidelines and medical literature. Abridge records the plan the clinician states during the visit. If the clinician omits a problem or forgets a guideline-recommended step, Abridge’s note will reflect that omission. Glass Health’s A&P is independently generated and evidence-anchored.
Clinical Q&A with citations to guidelines and medical literature: Need to check a drug interaction, verify a guideline, or explore a rare diagnosis mid-encounter? Glass Health searches clinical guidelines and the broader medical literature, returning answers with in-text citations. Abridge’s Wolters Kluwer partnership embeds UpToDate reference links next to documentation — helpful as reading material, but not the same as an AI that synthesizes evidence into a direct answer to your clinical question.
Persistent patient context independent of the EHR: Glass Health maintains its own Patient and Encounter system where clinicians upload outside records, imaging, labs, and consult notes that carry forward across visits and directly shape future clinical insights, differential diagnosis, and A&P output. Abridge accesses prior encounter context through the enterprise EHR, but that context informs documentation formatting — it is not used by Abridge to reason about the patient, generate a differential, or inform a clinical plan. The EHR integration does not give Abridge clinical reasoning capability.
Enhanced analytical processing for diagnostic complexity: Glass Health’s Deep Reasoning mode applies its deepest level of analysis to multi-system cases, atypical presentations, and teaching scenarios — allocating maximum computational depth for higher accuracy on clinical benchmarks. Abridge has no equivalent mode; its output is always documentation, whether the case is straightforward or diagnostically challenging.

Abridge’s UpToDate integration is a step toward adjacent clinical value, but embedding reference links is categorically different from generating a ranked differential or drafting a structured treatment plan. Clinicians using Abridge still open UpToDate in a separate tab for evidence synthesis and rely entirely on their own reasoning to build a differential. Glass Health merges those workflows into the encounter itself.

How Does Pricing Compare Between Glass Health and Abridge?

Abridge pricing:

Abridge does not publish public pricing. All contracts are negotiated at the enterprise level through direct sales. Third-party estimates from Sacra place the cost at approximately $2,500 per clinician per year (~$208/month). Actual pricing varies based on health system size, EHR integration depth, and contract terms. There is no self-serve plan, no individual provider option, and no free trial for individual physicians.

Glass Health pricing:

Plan	Monthly Price	Annual Price	Includes
Lite	Free ($0)	Free ($0)	Limited clinical decision support and ambient scribing
Starter	$20/month	$18/month	Extended CDS and ambient scribing
Pro	$90/month	$81/month	Unlimited ambient scribing, CDS, and more
Max	$200/month	$180/month	Everything in Pro + EHR integration (Epic, eClinicalWorks, Athena)

The pricing comparison: Abridge’s enterprise pricing (~$2,500/year per clinician) requires health system-level contracts and IT deployment. Glass Health’s Pro plan at $90/month ($1,080/year) includes unlimited ambient scribing plus the full clinical decision support platform — real-time clinical insights (including differential diagnosis, suggested history questions, and potential next steps), three-tier differential diagnosis, treatment plan drafts, assessment and plan generation, clinical Q&A with citations to clinical guidelines and medical literature, Deep Reasoning, patient context persistence, and six customizable documentation types. Glass Health’s free Lite tier lets individual clinicians evaluate both ambient scribing and CDS before committing — no enterprise sales cycle required.

Try Glass Health free — no enterprise contract needed →

When Should You Choose Abridge Over Glass Health?

If you do not need clinical decision support — no differential diagnosis, no treatment plan drafts, no clinical Q&A — and your primary requirement is ambient documentation delivered into Epic at enterprise scale, Abridge is a reasonable fit for that specific need.

You need 28+ language support: Abridge supports 28+ languages with auto-detection and code-switching. Glass Health currently supports English.
Your organization runs Epic at enterprise scale: Abridge’s Epic integration and enterprise deployment infrastructure are suited for large, IT-supported rollouts.
You already have separate CDS tools and don’t need them consolidated: If your clinicians use UpToDate or DynaMed separately and that workflow is working, Abridge focuses purely on documentation without adding clinical reasoning.
Procurement requires Best in KLAS validation: Abridge’s Best in KLAS recognition carries weight in some enterprise purchasing processes.

When Should You Choose Glass Health Over Abridge?

Glass Health is the better choice when your workflow demands go beyond note generation:

You need clinical decision support during encounters: Glass Health provides real-time clinical insights — including differential diagnosis, suggested history questions, and potential next steps — that refine as you gather information. This is a capability Abridge does not offer at any tier.
You want structured assessment and plan drafting grounded in evidence-based guidelines with in-text citations, not just transcribed conversation.
You want clinical Q&A with citations to clinical guidelines and medical literature: Glass Health answers clinical questions with citations drawn from guidelines and the broader medical literature. Abridge has no clinical Q&A feature.
You are an individual physician or small practice: Glass Health’s free Lite tier lets you start today. Abridge’s enterprise model requires an organizational sales process.
You use Epic, eClinicalWorks, or Athena: Glass Health offers EHR integrations for these systems.
You want patient context that persists across visits: Glass Health’s Patient and Encounter system maintains a longitudinal record — prior notes, labs, imaging, consult notes — that informs clinical reasoning over time.
You want to avoid tool stacking: One platform for scribing, CDS, and clinical reference instead of separate subscriptions. Glass Health consolidates these into a single workflow.
You want to start free: Glass Health’s Lite tier includes both ambient scribing and clinical decision support at no cost.

Start with the Glass Health free tier today →

FAQ

Does Abridge offer clinical decision support?

Abridge is a documentation platform. It partnered with Wolters Kluwer initially in 2024 (expanded in 2025) to embed UpToDate reference links within AI-generated notes (Wolters Kluwer), but this provides reading material alongside documentation — not AI-generated differential diagnoses, assessment and plans, or clinical reasoning. Glass Health includes native clinical insights (with differential diagnosis support), A&P generation, Deep Reasoning, and clinical Q&A as core features at every tier including the free Lite plan.

How much does Abridge cost compared to Glass Health?

Abridge does not publish pricing. Enterprise contracts are estimated at approximately $2,500 per clinician per year (~$208/month) based on third-party analysis (Sacra, 2025). Glass Health’s Lite tier is free and includes both ambient scribing and clinical decision support. Glass Health’s Pro plan at $90/month includes unlimited scribing plus the full CDS platform — less than half the estimated cost of Abridge per clinician.

What does Best in KLAS mean for Abridge?

Best in KLAS is an annual award from KLAS Research, an independent healthcare IT firm that evaluates software based on direct interviews with healthcare professionals. Abridge received Best in KLAS for the Ambient AI segment in 2025 and 2026. The award reflects customer satisfaction for ambient documentation among large health systems. It evaluates documentation quality and vendor relationships — it does not assess clinical decision support, differential diagnosis, or clinical reasoning capabilities, because Abridge does not offer those features.

Can Glass Health replace Abridge for large health systems?

Glass Health is designed for individual physicians, small practices, and group practices. If you are a 5,000+ clinician health system running Epic with an enterprise IT team, Abridge’s infrastructure and Epic integration are purpose-built for that context. However, if you are a practice, department, or individual clinician who needs both scribing and clinical decision support, Glass Health delivers capabilities Abridge does not offer at any scale.

Can Abridge generate a differential diagnosis?

No. Abridge documents the differential diagnosis if the clinician speaks it aloud during the encounter. It does not independently generate, rank, or suggest diagnoses based on clinical presentation. Glass Health generates structured three-tier differential diagnosis lists — Most Likely, Expanded Differential, and Can’t Miss Diagnoses — with specific diagnostic next steps for each category.

Does Abridge support multiple languages?

Yes. Abridge supports 28+ languages with automatic language detection and handles code-switching (e.g., mixed English-Spanish conversations). This is a meaningful advantage for multilingual health systems. Glass Health currently supports English.

Is Abridge HIPAA compliant?

Yes. Abridge is HIPAA compliant with a BAA, SOC 2 Type II certification, 256-bit encryption at rest and in transit, and U.S.-based data centers (Abridge Trust Center). Glass Health is also HIPAA compliant with BAA and encryption. Both platforms meet security requirements for clinical use.

Is Glass Health free to use?

Yes. Glass Health’s Lite tier includes ambient scribing, clinical decision support, differential diagnosis generation, assessment and plan creation, and clinical Q&A at no cost. Paid plans (Starter $20/month, Pro $90/month, Max $200/month) provide additional capacity and features. Sign up here.

Bottom Line

Abridge is an enterprise ambient scribe with strong Epic integration and an established presence at large health systems. For organizations whose primary need is documentation delivery at scale, it is a capable option. It does not generate differential diagnoses, produce assessment and plans, or reason from patient context — and the EHR integration does not change that.

For individual clinicians and small practices who want clinical reasoning alongside their notes — without waiting for an enterprise sales cycle — Glass Health offers a complete workflow platform, from ambient scribing through differential diagnosis to EHR push, starting at $0. No procurement team required. No IT deployment. Just sign up and start using CDS during your next patient encounter.

Start with the Glass Health free tier to compare directly, or explore all comparison pages.