UW Health Study Shows Value of AI Scribes for Clinicians and Health Systems

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By Christopher Cheney

A recent study published by researchers at UW Health shows AI scribes deliver value for clinicians and the health system.

Ambient listening tools, which are also known as AI scribes, record an encounter between a clinician and a patient, then produce a clinical documentation note for the EHR that can be used to craft care plans and provide information for billing claims sent to payers.

The study, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine AI, is the latest research that has found a positive impact from AI scribes.

A study published on Oct. 2 in JAMA Network Open found a significant reduction in clinician burnout after using an AI scribe, with the burnout rate falling from 51.9% to 38.8%. Another study published in JAMA Network Open in August had similar findings. That study found AI scribes were associated with a significant drop in clinician burnout, with one cohort’s burnout rate falling from 50.6% to 29.4% after 42 days of AI scribe use.

The most recent study features data collected from more than 27,000 clinical notes generated by an AI scribe. The research includes three key findings:

  • Clinicians reported a significant decrease in work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement.
  • There was a significant reduction in the time that clinicians spent working on clinical notes.
  • There was a significant improvement in coding.

There are two factors associated with AI scribes that reduce work exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement, according to Joel Gordon, MD, chief medical information officer at UW Health and a co-author of the study.

“With ambient listening AI tools, they have removed much of the clerical burden, and physicians can turn their attention to patient care,” Gordon says. “Another benefit of ambient listening AI tools is engagement with patients. Physicians can look their patients in the eye, which is very important. Taking care of patients when you are connected with them puts the human element into the process of healthcare delivery.”

Gordon says the study found that clinicians who used an AI scribe spent about 20 to 30 minutes less per day generating clinical notes, which he called “very significant.”

“We are seeing clinicians going home earlier and having a better work-life balance,” Gordon says. “Providers are using this time to address patient questions and needs in inbaskets and reviewing the chart more thoroughly. So, physicians are using the time they are gaining from AI scribes to be better doctors.”

There are two reasons why use of an AI scribe improved coding, Gordon explains.

“One reason is that the ambient listening AI tool is omnipresent,” Gordon says. “It helps clinicians avoid forgetting about elements of care they give to their patients. The ambient listening AI tool is recording everything during a patient encounter, so it can generate better documentation and better record-keeping for the care we are providing.”

Proving value and ROI of AI scribes

The recent study shows that use of an AI scribe by clinicians generates value and ROI, according to Gordon.

“There are returns on investment, and reducing burnout must be taken into account,” Gordon says. “One of the most expensive things to do is to replace a clinician who is not working at the full level of availability or just plain quits. So, maintaining productive members of your clinician workforce is important.”

The improvement in coding that was found in the research increases reimbursement, Gordon says.

Gordon and his research team are now turning their attention to how use of an AI scribe improves patient experience.

“There is value in providing a good patient experience,” Gordon says. “If there is a good patient experience, patients do not go elsewhere for their care—they come back to you. If a patient’s clinician has good eye contact with them, the patient will feel that the clinician cares about them.”