Artificial intelligence and physician burnout: A productivity paradox

Physician burnout persists in the American healthcare system. In part, this burnout is believed to be driven by the Electronic Health Record (EHR) and its fraught role in the clinical work of physicians. Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled healthcare technologies are often promoted on the basis of their promise to reduce burnout by introducing efficiencies into clinical work, particularly related to EHR utilization and documentation. Where documentation is perceived as the problem, AI scribes are offered as the solution.

This essay looks closely at existing studies of AI scribes in clinical context and draws upon experience and understanding of healthcare delivery and the EHR to anticipate how AI may related to provider burnout.

We find that it is premature to assert that AI tools will reduce physician burnout. Considering the integration of AI scribes into Learning Health Systems healthcare delivery becomes a starting point for understanding the challenges faced in safely adopting AI tools more generally, with attention to the healthcare workforce and patients.

It is not a foregone conclusion that AI-enabled healthcare technologies, in their current state and application, will lead to improved healthcare delivery and reduced burnout. Instead, this is an open question that demands rigorous evaluation and high standards of evidence before we restructure the work of physicians and redefine the care of our patients.