Main image courtesy of GSPatients.

If you’ve ever wondered if there was a better way to streamline workflow, create more time to spend with patients, get paperwork done, and save time, then chances are you’ve researched AI scribes. Healthcare workers in all kinds of fields have been learning more about exactly how ambient AI scribes can help them get more of their time back each day, without sacrificing quality or productivity. Although it may seem that the technology is still a way off into the future, the fact is accurate AI scribes are here now—and helping clinicians stay on top of patient medical documentation, and reducing feelings of burnout.

You may think that for this level of assistance you’ll have to pay for the best AI scribe, but did you know that there are free AI scribe services that can help automate your healthcare facility as well? 

Today we’ll be covering:

• What AI scribes are
• The top benefits of having an AI scribe
• The pros and cons of free AI scribes

AI scribes: What are they?

Is it time that you start getting on board with AI scribes?

Artificial intelligence has been leaving its mark on a variety of industries, and healthcare is no different. You’ll find it helping with automated tasks, performing tests, or just ensuring that patient information is easily uploaded and synced into an electronic health record system. However it is also assisting with patient encounters and the creation of notes for the patient file in the form of an AI scribe. Traditionally, providers would have to either write or enter notes at the time of the visit, or transcribe them afterwards. 

While there’s nothing wrong with getting documentation into the patient’s medical record this way, there could be a better way to do it. Ambient AI scribes only require clinicians to open the application on a smartphone or tablet, ask for consent from the patient, and then allow the scribe to listen to the conversation. The AI will transcribe the encounter, and can pull relevant information relating to the visit and format it according to a note format.

Ambient medical scribes use natural language processing and learning algorithms to transcribe and summarize what the doctor and patient discuss. 

After the encounter is through, the clinician is presented with a fully transcribed note that just needs to be reviewed for accuracy. If any additional information needs to be added after the fact, the provider can also use the voice recognition ability to include a voice memo that the AI scribe can also transcribe and add to the file. Once the EHR is updated, it is synced across all systems and devices, so anyone else looking up documentation will have the most up to date information. 

Using an AI medical tool like this has been game changing for those providers who have implemented it into their routine. They no longer have to split their attention between listening to what the patient has to say, and writing or typing in notes in real time. If they were entering information after the visit, clinicians would have to plan on doing so right after the encounter, or relying on notes they took at a later time. 

Documenting medical information in this way can increase the chance that they misrepresent something, or leave out some importation information entirely. It can also extend their day after patients are through, sometimes by as much as a few hours. This can easily lead to providers feeling burnout, and disrupting their work/life balance.

Benefits of ambient AI scribes

There are lots of benefits to including an AI scribe into your practice. So if you think this application might be right for you, here are some compelling reasons to make the choice to at least give one a try!

1. Benefits the doctor/patient relationship. Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of using an ambient AI scribe is that it can improve upon the doctor/patient relationship. Having a good relationship with patients is an essential part of medicine, and a small application on a phone or tablet could help any provider improve them. Relying on taking notes as patients speak can be incredibly distracting for clinicians, and requires them to not focus their whole attention on the patient. With an AI scribe, they can fully listen to the questions and concerns, and offer advice or information without worrying about whether or not they’ve accurately recorded what is happening.

Having the AI scribe transcribe (but not record) the patient encounter frees up clinicians to be fully present during the visit, which is appreciated by the patient and leads to an increased sense of satisfaction.

2. Is a time-saver for clinicians. When you have an AI medical scribe listening to the patient's encounter that can put all the necessary information into a note, you won’t have to worry about creating notes from scratch. This can be extremely time-saving for providers, since the AI scribe pulls relevant information and adds them to the correct areas for a complete note. While you will need to review it for accuracy, you won’t have to worry about the time-consuming administrative task of writing notes.

3. Very easy to use. With ambient scribes, there are not long training sessions required, and most providers learn how to use it properly within a few hours. You can start off by using it with a few patients, and then as you grow more comfortable with it, include it with all the patients that consent to it. Just download the application to any smartphone or tablet, ask for consent, and then you just hit the listening button. It may take a little time to get accustomed to how the AI scribe organizes the information, but once you know how it all works, it will be saving you time. 

4. Improves accuracy. All notes created by an AI medical scribe should be reviewed by a clinician, however they tend to be extremely accurate. You may find a few errors or “hallucinations” when the AI scribe got the wrong information, but overall the ability for ambient scribes to turn human conversation into transcription is very accurate. In fact it is more accurate than if a human manually entered in the information.

A lot of issues with notes are due to human error, whether it’s mishearing the patient, not remembering something, or just entering in the wrong medical diagnosis or prescription name. 

5. Reduces cost. Using an ambient scribe (especially a free AI scribe) can help reduce costs in any size facility. This is especially true if you’ve ever used a human medical scribe to assist with medical documentation or coding. Human scribes attend patients with providers and are responsible for documenting and transcribing the encounter. They will then create the note and prepare it for review. However, human scribes cost more money—not to mention AI scribes are more accurate than human scribes, and have less of a chance of making an error.

Using a free AI scribe to transcribe encounters and create notes could yield serious cost savings for a healthcare facility. 

6. Secure and reliable. AI scribes are designed to transcribe but not record patient encounters. This ensures not only that sensitive patient information is only recorded in their EHR, and the synced data is transferred via encryption. 

Can you get a free AI scribe?

Yes, there are free AI scribes available! If you’d rather test out a few AI scribes before deciding on one that best suits your needs, consider looking into a scribe that offers a free demo (like Playback Health), or a trial period. There are also a lot of ambient scribes that have tiered levels of services, and the free level often has only the basic features. You can always upgrade to another level to unlock those features that you might find exceptionally useful. 

• AI scribes like Heidi AI offer a completely free ambient scribe that was designed with input from clinicians.

Is Scribe AI free? 

Scribe AI does have a free version with limited features. There is a basic plan, as well as pro and enterprise plans that are paid. It should be noted that Scribe AI is not designed for medical transcription of patient encounters, instead it uses AI to create customized processes for businesses. This includes making guides, formatting text, redaction, and adding tips and alerts.

Is Scribe AI any good? 

Most reviews are positive for Scribe AI because it’s easy to use and uses AI to document processes.

Pros and cons of free AI scribes

Should you go with a free AI scribe or upgrade to a paid tier?

Ultimately, whether you decide to go with a free AI scribe or a paid version is up to you and your healthcare facility. Sometimes the free version is all you need to start saving time and money, but other times getting a paid version with helpful features could be your best bet. We’re going to lay out some of the pros and cons of free vs. paid AI scribes.

Free AI scribes

Pros

• Come at no extra cost!
• Offer basic features that most clinicians need like ambient listening
• Are easy to use and download to a phone or tablet
• Free scribes often allow syncing and sharing between clinicians
• Can upload easily to EHRs

Cons

• Very limited in what they can do
• May have limits on how many people can be under one plan
• May not offer what you need from an AI scribe

Paid AI scribes

Pros

• Unlock more useful features like pre-built and customizable templates, searches, voice recordings, and automated patient journeys
• Still very easy to use
• Offer all the features available on the free plan

Cons

• You need to spend money to have access to the features you need
• Companies may charge more depending how many people are on your plan

It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of adding another bill to pay each month, against having an ambient medical scribe that has all the features that save your facility time and money. 

Is a free AI scribe HIPAA compliant?

Yes a lot of free AI scribes are HIPAA compliant! This is an essential feature of your AI scribe, so make sure that any you do intend to try out come with this certification. Keeping patient data safe and secure is a top priority, so any AI scribe you use should also include this as one of their key features. 

How much does Lindy AI cost? 

Lindy AI has three pricing tiers, Student at $49/month, Standard at $99/month, and Pro at $199/month.

Will you try out a free AI scribe?

There are all kinds of AI scribes out there, some even offering free trials or a free level of service. If you want to get the best AI scribe out there, why not go with one like Playback Health that can automate patient journeys and notes, listen to and transcribe patient encounters, as well as sync information for seamless sharing?