Ambient AI Scribe Implementation in an Ambulatory Setting in a Single Medical Group: Prospective Study

Health care providers spend an excessive amount of time within electronic medical record (EMR) systems documenting patient encounters, often amounting to hours of work outside of regular office hours. This affects physician productivity and directly contributes to burnout. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more integrated into medical care, including the development of speech recognition and note generation algorithms. Limited studies exist on how these AI tools affect provider satisfaction, work-life balance, and patient satisfaction.

The aim of this study was to assess the use of ambient AI in medical documentation and its effects on time spent in the EMR and on provider burnout, with a secondary focus on note quality and patient satisfaction.

This prospective study was conducted at the Hawaii Pacific Health Medical Group to pilot an AI note writer. Abridge was chosen as the AI platform and integrated with the Epic EMR. A goal of 75 providers for a 3-month pilot period was established from December 2024 through February 2025. Surveys were distributed to providers before and during the trial period. Epic Signal and Abridge data were used to correlate provider-perceived outcomes with EMR-recorded outcomes. Users were then divided into groups based on frequency of AI use, with high use defined as ≥60% AI scribe use in patient encounters. The primary outcome was time spent on documentation per appointment.

A total of 80 providers were recruited, with 79 completing the pilot. More than 25,000 notes were generated across 23 specialties. Signal metrics found a 21% decrease in time spent on notes per day (-13.6 minutes) and a 13% decrease in pajama time (-3.6 minutes) among high users. Among 79 providers using ambient AI, 6 (7.6%) reported spending ≥8 hours per week on notes outside of clinic hours, a 76% decrease from 25 (31.6%) providers before the pilot. With ambient AI, 39 (49.4%) physicians reported no burnout symptoms, representing a 22% increase. Provider-perceived workload decreased, and self-reported note quality remained favorable. Providers reported that 84% of notes required edits to less than one-quarter of the note content. Patient experience, as measured by "provider listened to me" scores on patient satisfaction surveys, was not significantly affected by ambient AI use (P=.39).

This ambient AI scribe decreased the time providers spent writing notes in the clinic and decreased time spent in the EMR outside of work hours. There was no significant difference in symptoms of burnout.