AI scribes can 'significantly reduce' doctor burnout, study finds

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By Julie Penfold

Using artificial intelligence-powered note-taking scribes can significantly reduce doctor burnout and improve wellbeing, a US study has found.

Researchers said that utilising scribes to record patient visits and draft clinical notes can give more time with patients and restore “joy” in medicine.

Physician burnout affects more than 50% of doctors in the US and it has been linked to time spent on documentation and updating electronic health records, particularly after hours.

Researchers looked at more than 1,400 physicians and advanced practice providers piloting the technology from Mass General Brigham, in Massachusetts, and Emory Healthcare in Georgia.

At Mass General Brigham, the use of ambient documentation technologies was associated with a 21.2% absolute reduction in burnout prevalence after 84 days.

Clinicians at Emory Healthcare had a 30.7% absolute increase in documentation-related wellbeing after 60 days, the study, published in Jama Network Open, found.

“Ambient documentation technology has been truly transformative in freeing up physicians from their keyboards to have more face-to-face interaction with their patients,” said Dr Rebecca Mishuris, a primary care physician and chief medical information officer at Mass General Brigham, who is co-senior author of the study.