AI scribes in healthcare are becoming more common for a few different reasons:

• They automate time-consuming processes
• They’re cost effective
• AI scribes in healthcare enhance patient experience

These are just some of the reasons healthcare workers have been introducing them into their facilities more and more. It doesn’t matter what type of healthcare field you’re in or the size of your practice, AI medical scribes can be scaled down or up to help clinicians in a variety of ways. But what exactly are AI scribes and how can they help providers focus more on patients and less on administrative tasks?

What are medical AI scribes? 

Get to know a little more about what ambient AI scribes are

AI medical scribes are smart applications that are designed to help clinicians focus more on their patients, and not so much on documenting encounters. They can be downloaded to any smartphone or tablet, and use natural language processing (NLP) and advanced algorithms to “listen” to both the patient and the doctor as they converse during the appointment. The AI medical scribe will transcribe the meeting, freeing up the provider to focus completely on the patient, and no longer worry about getting distracted while entering information manually at the same time.

These transcriptions can then be summarized and formatted into note form (such as SOAP notes) without the clinician having to do any typing. Once the note is reviewed for accuracy it is synced with the patient’s electronic health record (EHR), and available on all devices immediately. This ensures the patient’s entire healthcare team has access to the latest up to date medical documentation. 

According to a 2023 study done by the Permanente Medical Group, clinicians were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to use the AI scribe, and how it really helped them save time during their day. Before ambient scribes, clinicians would have to take notes or update medical documentation during the visit, or fill in this information afterwards. Often this led to missing or forgotten information, and it added time onto the end of the provider’s day, fostering more burnout. It also prevented the provider from being fully present with their patient during the visit.

Will AI replace medical scribes? 

Human medical scribes are folks who are trained to follow clinicians to patient encounters and document the essential information during the visit. This frees up the provider to focus on the patient while the scribe fills out the note, updates information, and documents findings from exams/assessments. You can find human medical scribes in a variety of settings, including the ER, clinics, and primary care providers. Scribes can assist either in person, or virtually through a telehealth visit. 

Medical scribes must be trained so that they can accurately enter the right information and medical terms, and there can be a steep learning curve as they get used to how each provider approach’s encounters and medical documentation. Scribes give more time back to the provider, since they do not need to start their notes or documentation from scratch, however doctors will still need to review the note for accuracy.

A well-trained medical scribe also requires a salary, and they cannot be expected to be available all the time. This is where an AI scribe can help, since they will cost less than a human scribe, and can be used anytime in the healthcare facility. Both types of scribes are very useful, but have their limitations, so it remains to be seen whether or not ambient scribes will one day replace human medical scribes.

How much does a medical AI scribe cost?

Most AI scribes are on a subscription plan, which means you can either pay a monthly fee or for the entire year. They typically offer a few levels of service with more features included at the higher price points. You can also choose different levels based on the size of your practice, and how often you intend to use it—which is why there really is an AI scribe for any type of healthcare facility. 

You can typically expect to pay around $99-$150 per month (although many charge more) for unlimited use of the scribe, which can easily be factored into monthly budgets. Some providers find that they’re able to get what they need from the free level of the AI, but by doing so you won’t have access to all the potential features. Lots of AI scribes will offer a free trial or demo so your facility can try it out before you commit, and there are even AI scribes that are completely free. 

What AI scribes are HIPAA compliant?

It’s important to look for an AI scribe that is HIPAA compliant, to ensure that sensitive patient data is encrypted and protected and will only be shared with the patient. You don’t want to turn to a general use AI system (such as ChatGPT) when it comes to protecting patient data. That’s why it’s essential to choose an ambient medical scribe that is specifically designed for the healthcare field. There are a variety of AI scribes in healthcare that are HIPAA compliant, and that would easily sync with most EHR management systems:

• Playback Health (also SOC 2 compliant and encrypted)
• Tali AI
• Freed
• DeepScribe
• Lindy
• Nuance DAX

What are the best AI scribes in healthcare?

If you do a Google search for AI scribes, you’ll find all kinds of options. However, not all AI scribes in healthcare are created the same. What’s good for one type of field or practice might not be what’s best for another. That’s why it’s important to find one that fits your practice. Some of the top AI scribes include:

• Playback Health. This is your one stop shop for an AI scribe that’s able to provide hands-free transcription of patient encounters, automates the patient journey from start to finish, creates notes automatically, and provides seamless sharing of information between the health team members. Playback Health is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant. 

• Lindy. Provides ambient AI scribe listening to generate accurate notes and updates patients’ EHRs. There are custom-built templates to help with notes, or you can customize your own. Lindy is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant.

• Nuance DAX. Nuance DAX is partnered with Microsoft to document patient encounters to improve documentation accuracy, create notes, and reduce clinician burnout. 

There are many more AI scribes, these are just a handful of some of the best out there.

What are the benefits of AI scribes in healthcare?

See why so many healthcare workers are choosing to bring AI scribes to their facilities

As you can see, AI scribes can do a lot for all kinds of healthcare fields. Whether you’re practicing psychiatry, family medicine, or a specialized field, there’s a good chance that ambient scribes can help your facility. There are other noteworthy benefits of AI medical scribes to consider as well.

1. It automates clerical tasks. Clinicians want to focus on listening to their patients and helping them through their concerns. They don’t want to have to divide their attention between the patient and manually entering in information into the EHR. And they certainly don’t want to waste time creating notes from scratch. While it may not take a ton of time to do these tasks for each patient, it sure adds up. What isn’t entered during the visit will have to be put into the file later, extending the provider’s day.

AI medical scribes can completely automate these clerical tasks so the clinician doesn’t have to worry about doing two things at the same time. Having an ambient scribe transcribing the encounter in real time is great not only because the provider can actually have a conversation with their patient, but the summary of the encounter and the note created is sent to the EHR. This way, there’s always a record of what happened at each encounter.

2. Improves provider/patient relationship. Patients want to speak their concerns and ask questions of their providers and have their full attention. They don’t want to feel like the clinician is distracted or trying to do too much at once. When the AI scribe is listening to their conversation, the doctor can really look the patient in the eye and give them their full attention. This leaves patients feeling better after their visits—they feel like their provider is really listening and present. 

Providers like how they can focus on their patients for the whole encounter, instead of manually typing in information while they’re also listening.

3. Reduces errors. When the AI scribe is creating notes, there’s a much lower chance of errors or omissions due to human error. Even if there is a human medical scribe in the room during the encounter and the provider can focus on the patient, AI scribes are more accurate than their human counterpart. Ambient scribes can achieve 95-98% accuracy, which is higher than even a well trained human medical scribe. 

4. Lower costs. Although it may seem pricey upfront, AI medical scribes will cost much less than their human medical scribes counterparts. The monthly or yearly fee associated with an AI scribe is much lower than paying a human scribe, and it is much more cost effective to use the AI than a provider to perform clerical tasks. If cost is a major concern, a lot of AI scribes have free tiers that offer basic features, so you can pay nothing and see how much the scribe can reduce the clerical workload of clinicians. 

5. Easy to use. AI scribe applications just need to be downloaded and synced with your current electronic record management system. Once they are, you just need to open the app, confirm patient consent, and it starts listening. Ambient scribes use NLP to transcribe conversations, and the technology is so advanced, they are even good at picking up words through different accents or voice inflections.

6. Secure. Every healthcare provider knows how crucial it is to secure patient data. When you use a secure and encrypted AI scribe, the data is secure at rest and when it’s sent. Once the note is approved and ready to be sent to the EHR, it is encrypted and synced up with the system, reducing chances of an information leak. AI scribes should be HIPAA compliant to ensure the information stays only with the patient.

7. Streamlines workflow. Healthcare facilities can run a more streamlined workflow when an AI medical scribe helps out. Not only does it save time by creating a seamless process that goes from patient encounter transcription to updating the EHR, but it also means that this information is synced across all devices. Information can be retrieved easily since it’s all in one place, and patient data can be shared among the healthcare team so everyone who needs to know has the most updated records.

Are AI scribes in healthcare right for you?

If you think you’re ready to try out an ambient scribe in your practice, why not invest in one that can really do it all? Playback Health offers a full suite of AI help, including ambient listening for patient encounters, automating notes, automating the patient journey, and ensuring seamless syncing of all devices so everyone has the most up to date information possible.