Physician Insights on the Integration of Ambient AI Scribes in Healthcare

Clinical documentation requirements have increasingly contributed to clinician burnout, placing substantial cognitive and temporal demands on physicians. An innovation called ambient artificial intelligence (AI) scribes shows promise as a solution to counteract this problem. Artificial intelligence tools that run through large language models provide real-time transcription services for clinician-patient conversations. Medical professionals review the generated clinical notes before making edits. 

The initial analysis indicates that ambient AI transcription assistants show promise to lessen clinicians’ work burden while decreasing professional exhaustion. There is insufficient research available that dives deep into physician perceptions of these tools. This research evaluates physician perspectives about ambient AI scribes through an investigation of enabling factors alongside hindrances to implementation and recommendations for professional use improvement. 

The qualitative study was conducted as a 3-month pilot program (November 2023-January 2024) and included 48 physicians from ambulatory care and primary care who utilized Nuance Dragon Ambient Experience Copilot technology. The evaluation used the Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance/Practical, Robust Implementation, and Sustainability Model (RE-AIM/PRISM), which has proven effective for analyzing complex health technology implementations. 

Participants were selected through purposive sampling based on their tool utilization level (low, medium, high) together with two physicians who voluntarily left the pilot study. Physicians participated in virtual interviews between March and April 2024 using the Zoom platform for recording purposes after receiving consent for their verbal statements.  

The study identified several facilitators and barriers to the adoption of the ambient AI scribe tool. Key facilitators included ease of use, ease of editing, and positive perceptions of tool quality. Users adopted the scribe tool because it was easy to use and edit, while they positively evaluated its quality. Most physicians indicated positive experiences with respect to the influence of the tool on cognitive demand (100% of comments), temporal demand (62% of comments), integration of work and life (91%), and total workload (89%).

 A substantial number (68% of comments) reported beneficial perceptions of the AI tool concerning its effects on patient engagement. Physicians pointed out strong obstacles to tool adoption, which stemmed mainly from accessibility and accuracy issues. The AI tool posed difficulties for physicians when working with non-English-speaking patients and had limitations due to specific device requirements. Physicians expressed dissatisfaction about the way generated notes appeared, along with doubts about their accuracy, mainly because they needed to edit extensively, and the notes were too lengthy. 

Healthcare professionals generally accepted the longer length of content because it enabled them to create thorough clinical documents. The medical users proposed improvements in note documentation techniques, language support, and device compatibility. 

This research has delivered crucial information that shows both advantages and obstacles that exist when implementing ambient AI transcription services. Previous research validates the findings that reduced documentation burden creates positive effects on clinicians’ cognitive and temporal workload while improving their work-life integration. The tool proved useful because it enabled physicians to direct their attention toward patients instead of documentation tasks. 

The study presents crucial recommendations that aim to improve automated transcription services for medical facilities. To achieve wider acceptance of the tool, it needs better language capabilities alongside compatibility with various devices. The AI note-generation system needs refinements, which should decrease the amount of editing and boost note accuracy to reduce negative feedback about note production. The qualitative research study gives necessary insights into physicians who use ambient AI scribes within medical clinical environments. 

The tool demonstrated potential value by lowering cognitive workload, saving time, and improving work-life integration, yet multiple accessibility problems and accuracy improvements are among its current challenges. Medical professionals showed positive outlooks toward ambient AI transcription technologies as they recommended potential advancements that will advance the technology into the future. Further research is needed to assess long-term physician experiences and examine patient reactions to ambient AI note generation. This research demonstrates the essential need to eliminate technological and practical obstacles to ensure that ambient AI technologies fulfill their potential in healthcare settings. 

References: 

Shah SJ, Crowell T, Jeong Y, et al. Physician perspectives on ambient AI scribes. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(3):e251904. Physician Perspectives on Ambient AI Scribes | Electronic Health Records | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network