As a family physician who has spent a large portion of my 18+ year medical career building tools to support better clinical workflows, I’ve seen technology transform our clinics in many incredible ways.

Lately, AI scribes (also referred to as “ambient scribes”) have generated a lot of buzz for their potential to automate clinical documentation. For over a year now, I’ve been using scribe tools in my daily practice and have enjoyed significant benefits from integrating them into my routines. I’ve found that these new tools can be highly effective, but there are a few things providers should be aware of when setting up.

Getting started with AI scribes

Here’s a quick overview of some key factors to consider when integrating AI scribes:

• Installing the tools: If your practice has multiple exam rooms, be prepared to install and configure the scribe tool on every workstation. Alternatively, I prefer to carry my laptop with me from room to room, as it simplifies setup and allows me to easily start and stop recordings as I move between rooms and patients. Ultimately the choice is yours, but in general installing the applications has been a relatively simple process.
• Capturing consent: I use Ocean’s automated reminders to send out consent forms ahead of visits. This saves me from spending precious time explaining the technology to each patient during an already-short visit. Thanks to Ocean’s seamless EMR integration, I can immediately tell when it’s OK to start the recording. If your clinic has a check-in kiosk, this is another great place to load up any and all consent forms, including the AI scribe consent form from the Ocean Library.
• Managing notes: While the AI generates excellent summaries using common clinical formats (e.g. SOAP), providers must of course still review them for accuracy. Often, I add physical exam details (if not discussed aloud) and my own comments to ensure the note is comprehensive. That said, no AI summary will ever completely adopt your personal note-taking style, and outputs are generally longer with less short-hand (for better or worse).

Primary benefits of AI scribes

Over the past 12 months, I’ve enjoyed many of the advantages highlighted in the eHealth Centre of Excellence’s study on AI scribes. The study found that family doctors and nurse practitioners reduced their documentation time by nearly 70%, saving 3-4 hours a week. This aligns with my experience, particularly with longer appointments that require more rigorous notetaking.

These AI tools provide something refreshing and invigorating: mental freedom. No longer distracted by capturing every detail, I can be fully present. With documentation handled, I can lean in, maintain eye contact, and tune into the subtle rhythms of conversation. While the time saved is significant, this deeper connection with patients has proven even more valuable.

Practical considerations of AI scribes

While AI scribes offer several notable benefits, integrating them into your practice isn’t without challenges. Some of those worth considering include:

• Consent: In family medicine where time is limited and patient issues can be complex, spending time explaining the technology and obtaining consent during a short visit simply isn’t feasible. Without automated tools, consent workflows can quickly become a large barrier to adoption.
• Integration: EMR integration can be another challenge. Not every AI scribe offers seamless connectivity with commonly used EMRs, requiring copy-and-pasting from the tool to the chart, thereby reducing some of the time-savings. While this hasn’t been a deal-breaker for me personally, make sure you consider your end-to-end workflow when selecting a scribe vendor.
• Complexity: Finally, complex visits can be challenging, especially with multiple patients in the room (imagine a whole family with similar symptoms at differing timelines). In these situations, I often need to spend extra time parsing and organizing the AI note before adding them to their respective charts. That said, I’ve often been amazed by how accurate the raw output was even in these challenging situations.

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Overall, I have found that AI scribes can meaningfully reduce the administrative burden on healthcare providers and allow them to spend more quality time with their patients. At this point, I would not want to go back to full manual transcription, and I’m excited about what the future of has in store for these types of digital tools.

WELL AI Voice is easy to set up and works with most EMRs.