Artificial intelligence scribes in primary care
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Date
2024
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Abstract
1 Artificial intelligence (AI) scribes can mimic human
scribes
These tools use speech recognition, natural language process
ing, and AI technologies to listen during a clinical encounter
and generate clinical documentation.1 Clinicians can then
review, edit, and sign the generated note in the medical record.
2 Early evidence suggests that AI scribes lessen
administrative burden and improve quality of time
spent with patients2,3
A 10-week, California-based pilot found that primary care
providers spent less time documenting during appointments
and using electronic medical records outside office hours.3
Patients felt comfortable with AI scribes and reported clin
icians spent less time looking at a computer.3 The use of AI
scribes may also improve the quality of medical notes by
generating more timely and complete documentation.3,4
3 Clinical documentation generated by AI scribes may
contain errors and must always be reviewed3,5
Atrifical Intelligence tools can introduce mistakes, including
hallucinations (i.e., documenting things that did not occur) or
omission of key information.3,5 They may struggle with differ
ent languages and documenting physical examinations.2,3
Clin icians are ultimately responsible for the quality of their
documentation and must review all AI-generated notes to
ensure accuracy and completeness.4,5
4 Users must ensure software is compliant with local
privacy regulations4,5
To date, AI scribes remain unregulated. Clinicians must
understand how clinical information captured by the soft
ware is stored, retained, accessed, and subsequently
used.4,5 Data stored outside of Canada may be subject to
foreign laws. The onus is on the clinician or their institution
to understand privacy implications and potential for patient
harm, and to ensure the software performs as intended.
5 Users must obtain consent before using an AI scribe4,5
Clinicians must explain, receive, and document informed
consent from patients, including reasons for use and poten
tial risks such as privacy implications and subsequent owner
ship, storage, and use of health