Main image courtesy of Healthline. 

Artificial intelligence is starting to become a daily fixture in a variety of medical specialties, including physical therapy. There are a variety of uses for AI, and it is exceptionally good at doing repetitive tasks that were once very time-consuming for healthcare practitioners. Although you’ll find AI in lots of places in healthcare, one area where it’s doing a lot of good is with clerical tasks like creating notes.

• This article will discuss:
  
  • Whether or not AI scribes are helpful to PTs
  • Can AI scribes assist with physical therapy notes?
  • The AI scribes every PT should consider using

Administrative tasks like note taking are essential practices for all clinicians, however they can take extra time and are additional work put onto already overworked providers. Burnout is a very real issue in this field, and as many as 50% of physical therapists are dealing with burnout and feelings of being overburdened at work. Physical therapy is an important job, they help people rehabilitate and get back to functioning normally so they can live their best life, which is why it’s crucial that they don’t have to deal with issues like burnout. This is why AI scribes can really benefit PTs!

Are AI scribes helpful to PTs?

How can a physical therapist use an AI scribe in their daily tasks?

Note creation and medical documentation is an essential task for all kinds of healthcare providers, including physical therapists. That means that in addition to treating and caring for their patients’ needs, they also need to make sure all the patient information is recorded accurately in their note, and included in the EHR. PTs have two ways they can get this information during their patient encounters, either by typing as the patient speaks, or filling in the details after the appointment or at the end of the day. Neither of these methods is ideal, since it takes away the physical therapist’s focus on the patient—instead of giving their full attention to listening to what is going on, they’re writing down information into a note.

And if they don’t do this at the time of the encounter, they’ll have to rely on jotted down information after the appointment in order to properly complete the note. This can cause providers to have to stay after their shift, or complete and catch up with their charting on their time off. When you know this, it’s easy to see why healthcare practitioners of all specialties are feeling burned out. 

These notes are an important part of the encounter, and no matter what format they use, physical therapists want to make sure they’re getting all the information necessary from the patient—and can include their additional observations as well. So instead of trying to do two tasks at once, AI scribes are now available to PTs so they can focus their full attention on their patients.

There are a few ways in which PTs would find an AI scribe useful:

• A patient evaluation. When you’re evaluating the needs of a patient, whether it’s for the first time or a recurring one, it’s essential that you get all the information so you can make an appropriate assessment and decide on treatment. In the evaluation, the patient will tell you exactly what happened, or what has been going on that’s giving them trouble. If it’s a post-surgery rehab, you’ll likely already know what occurred, but it’s still best to get information from the patient. 

This is a key instance when a physical therapist can rely on an AI scribe to ensure nothing is missed during this important discussion. After gaining consent, the AI scribe just needs to be turned on so that it starts to listen to the conversation. It then uses this transcription to summarize the encounter, and create a note in the format that the PT prefers. These notes are more accurate than human created notes, as they can pick up all sorts of details that might be missed. Moreover, the PT can concentrate on listening to the patient, building a bond of trust, instead of typing into the computer or tablet. 

• Assessing the situation and deciding on treatment. Once the note is created, AI scribes can often use this information, as well as the particular patient's medical information, and make suggestions to the PT regarding potential treatment options. The physical therapist can weigh these data-derived insights to make the final decision about the patient’s situation, and what type of therapy would benefit them the most. 

As the patient continues to visit the PT office, the AI scribe can easily pull up previous encounter notes so the therapist can decide whether or not the treatment is beneficial and if any tweaks or adjustments need to be made.

• Using dictation. Another feature that AI scribes offer is dictation, which makes it very easy to add information to notes, or to add new information right in the application. This is helpful if you want to pull up information or search for specific terms, but it can also be used to ask the AI scribe to find documents or other templates like letters or forms.

• Syncing workflow with other team members. Physical therapists don’t work alone, and there is a whole team of people there that help the process run smoothly for patients. One of the best parts about using an AI scribe for PT notes, is that as soon as the note is approved, it’s synced with the EHR system at the practice. This means that everyone on the care team has access to the most up to date patient information, which can be used to generate payment forms, start the insurance claims process, and keep the patients’ journeys organized.

What are the advantages of having an AI scribe for physical therapy notes?

There are a lot of benefits for PTs who want to include AI scribes in their practices

AI scribes can definitely be used to assist physical therapists in their everyday routines. PTs want to focus on helping their patients regain or restore the proper movement of their bodies, and they don’t need the extra workload of also creating detailed notes to be added to the patient’s EHR. Physical therapists, like all healthcare practitioners, are busy—so why not allow AI to help make their day go more smoothly with a highly organized system of patient management? 

Including an AI scribe in a physical therapy practice has a lot of benefits.

1. It creates a better note

Allowing the AI scribe to capture the information during an encounter is a big step towards creating a better note. Sometimes when clinicians get busy or are distracted, they may not create the most detail-oriented note—accidently leaving out information or simply forgetting what the patient said. AI scribes don’t have this issue, and they can create a more accurate, complete note that includes all the information in the right format. Having an application that all PTs in the practice use also ensures everyone’s notes are up to the same standard. This way, when someone on the healthcare team needs to access patient information, there’s plenty of details for them to review so that they’re up to speed.

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When physical therapists are less worried about creating a note, they’re going to pay closer attention to the patient, including their body language. This is crucial for a PT as body language can give them a lot of information in addition to what the patient tells them verbally.

2. More information is collected

PTs don’t mean to leave information out of a note, however if they’re rushed or are trying to do too much, there’s a greater chance this will happen. Instead of hoping to get the information as well as actually listening and responding to the patient, why not rely on an accurate AI scribe to help instead? Partnering with an AI scribe is a great way to ensure all the information is collected and formatted into the right place so accessing it easier than ever. 

3. AI applications are easy to use

Speaking of easy, AI scribes are incredibly simple to use. All you need is a smart device or a browser and you can start using one. Ambient medical scribes are designed to be accessible and the interface is straightforward, helping PTs find exactly what they’re looking for without jumping through hoops to do it. In addition to being easy to use on a device/computer, AI scribes can sync up with your current EHR system. That way, all patient information is immediately updated, no matter from what device the healthcare team is accessing their information. 

4. Office processes are streamlined

Physical therapy facilities can also benefit from AI scribes because they automate the entire patient journey and streamline office processes like billing and the revenue cycle. With AI scribes, you can automate patient reminders for appointments or additional diagnostics, ensure patients get checked in and out, as well as include more accurate billing codes to patient claim forms. 

AI scribes every PT should consider for their notes

Consider trying out a few scribes before making your decision on one

Every PT practice is different, which means an AI scribe that works for one, might not work for another team. That’s why we recommend taking advantage of the free trials or demos that AI scribes offer, to see if their applications will help make your day run more smoothly, and help you reduce burnout and spend more time with patients. 

Playback Health

If you’re looking for an AI medical scribe that can help out at your busy physical therapy facility, look no further than Playback Health. This scribe is designed to be easy to use right from the start, but don’t worry if you get stuck because it also comes with technical support. Users of this AI scribe report that it offers around 99% accuracy for notes, which is a big deal for PTs who want to ensure they capture all patient information. They also see around a 20% increase in productivity, giving PTs as much as three hours back each day.

Other reasons why think this would be a good fit for physical therapy notes:

• It is HIPAA and SOC 2 compliant
• Offers a 2 week free trial
• Offers patient journey automation
• Improves office workflow
• Has templates
• Offers translations
• Competitively priced

Freed AI

Another choice that PTs have when it comes to a reliable AI scribe for notes is Freed. This scribe was created to give clinicians back their freedom—so they aren’t so run down and burned out by the constraint stream of notes. AI scribe offers:

• 7 day free trial
• Customizable 
• Has templates
• Has EHR integration

Abridge

Abridge AI uses generative AI to create accurate notes for clinicians at the point of care. This AI scribe is known throughout the healthcare field, and provides accurate summaries and correct medical terminology, no matter what the speciality is—which is great for physical therapists! It can also provide:

• AI scribe integration at scale
• Easy to integrate with EHRs
• Multiple languages are available
• Codes medical information at the point of care

Which AI scribe will you include at your physical therapy practice?

Having an AI scribe as a physical therapist is a great way to not only improve your notes, but it allows you to spend more time helping your patients. It’s important to try out a few before deciding on one, that way you know which ambient medical scribe will help improve your office workflow, and not impede it!