The Rise of AI Scribes: Are They Helping or Hurting Patient Care

Ashaar Bakshi

In today’s world, AI has been spreading its reach across various industries, and medicine is no exception. Many companies have worked to create AI tools which aid in scribing and note-taking for physicians, collaborating with Electronic Medical Services (EMS) record systems. So what exactly is the goal of AI scribes, and is this the first time we are seeing AI effectively implemented into medicine?

Scribing is the process of documenting and taking notes on patient-physician interactions. Not only is this legally required, but scribing is essential for consistency, communication, and proper care in the healthcare field. Some hospitals hire scribes, which are employees who are solely focused on documenting patient visits, while smaller-scale hospitals have the physicians document everything themselves. Studies have shown that the heavy documentation load places a significant burden on physicians. In fact, clinical documentation has been identified as a major contributor to burnout, with many doctors spending long hours outside of work catching up on charting. Over time, this can lead to decreased physician satisfaction.

This is where artificial intelligence comes in. Many companies have discovered that AI can be used to record and summarize conversations between doctors and patients, and then automatically draft notes directly into the electronic health record. The primary goal is to reduce the documentation burden on physicians and give them more uninterrupted, face-to-face time with patients.

So far, around 30% of physician practices have adopted or trialed AI scribes, with usage growing across major health systems and electronic health records (EHR) platforms. For instance, EPIC has implemented an AI scribe into their system, which is becoming more widely adopted. Notably, departments with historically high documentation burdens—such as mental health, primary care and emergency medicine—saw the highest levels of adoption.

Early results are promising, showing that AI scribes have saved doctors an estimated 15,791 hours, the equivalent of 1,794 eight-hour work days.

This significant time savings highlights how AI can meaningfully improve efficiency in healthcare. With less time spent charting, physicians can see more patients and devote more attention and higher-quality care to each visit.

But what are downsides, if any?

An important distinction to make is that AI scribes don’t provide any diagnoses or treatment suggestions. Instead, they passively capture conversations and produce drafts of clinical notes, which physicians can then edit for accuracy. Some patients worry that AI is replacing their doctor, but current systems are purely supportive tools, not decision-makers. Still, like any new technology, AI scribes come with limitations:

  1. Additions/Omissions of information: AI systems still have errors, where they may generate false information, such as exams that never happened or symptoms that never occurred. Additionally, AI can leave out important details from patient encounters, including symptoms, concerns, or key assessment findings.
  2. Lack of Nonverbal Awareness: AI scribes rely solely on audio input and cannot capture nonverbal cues (e.g., body language, signs of distress), which may speak to a patient’s story.
  3. Speaker Attribution Errors: It has been found that AI has difficulty distinguishing between multiple speakers, leading to misattribution of clinician vs. patient statements.

While these issues can be concerning and the technology is still being fine tuned, it is important to note that physicians have the ability to edit the AI transcripts before they enter the official documentation system. 

AI scribes are still relatively new, and not all physicians have adopted them. However, among those who have, the technology has shown strong potential to improve efficiency and allow doctors to spend more time directly engaging with their patients. Not only could this increase physician satisfaction but may also enhance patient experiences. The remaining question is, will AI continue to evolve and move from a passive role to an active role in medicine?

Copy editor: Lindsey McCrea

Photography source: https://medicalfuturist.com/medical-ai-scribes-in-2025-the-top-3-practical-benefits