Study finds AI scribes save doctors' time and may ease administrative burden
Artificial intelligence (AI) scribes can reduce the time physicians spend documenting patient visits by 69.1% during simulated primary care appointments, according to research led by University of Toronto Ph.D. student LaShawn Murray.
A new study reveals that AI-powered scribes can significantly cut the time doctors spend documenting patient visits. Led by University of Toronto researchers, the research found AI scribes reduced documentation time by 69.1% during simulated primary care appointments. These digital tools record patient interactions and transform the audio into structured clinical notes for medical charts.
The study involved nine physicians completing simulated encounters with and without AI scribes. Researchers noted that physicians spent over one-third of each encounter on note-taking without AI assistance. Incorporating AI scribes led to more timely documentation and reduced cognitive labor for doctors. The shift in workflow also prompted physicians to ask more follow-up questions, as they no longer had to constantly switch between patient interaction and typing on a computer.
The study, published in JAMIA Open, highlights the need for Ontario-specific research on AI technology in healthcare, as Canadian physicians operate under different privacy regulations than their U.S. counterparts. While more research is needed to understand AI scribes' performance in real-world clinical settings, the study opens up discussions about the potential impact of AI on patient communication and the acceptance of AI scribes by patients from different population backgrounds.
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