7 Benefits of AI Medical Scribes in Healthcare

August 29, 2024

graphic on screen losely resembling 7 AI in a script format

What is an AI medical scribe and how does it help reduce the risks of burnout?

Most doctors say they love what they do. However, when their work becomes too little about direct patient care and too much about completing clinical documentation, that love can easily give way to burnout and depression.

That’s why the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is causing so much excitement, particularly when it comes to AI-powered tools for giving physicians a head start on their Progress Notes and other administrative tasks.

While human beings have long served as medical scribes, our technological age has given rise to a generation of new, AI medical scribes that are tireless, accurate, and cost effective.

According to salary.com, the average salary for a human medical scribe in the U.S., as of July 2024, was $38,849. While that’s not a major burden for any medical practice’s payroll, busy practices might well need more than one scribe to complete their work.

What if the scribing and transcription portion of the budget was used on AI medical scribe technology instead?

Sunoh.ai, which starts at $1.25 per visit, could document more than 31,000 patient encounters for the average cost of just one human scribe. Sunoh creates draft Progress Notes with a high degree of accuracy in a fraction of the time needed by a human.

It is little surprise, then, that more and more physicians facing the question: Would you take advantage of a technology that could lighten your administrative burdens and allow you to focus more of your time on your patients?” respond with an enthusiastic “Yes!”

The reality and seriousness of physician burnout

Physician burnout is a growing crisis, and the phenomenon of burnout is best understood as ranging from those providers who may feel stressed out or overworked some of the time to those who are so worn down by the demands of their jobs that they exhibit clinical depression.

Many studies and surveys have evaluated the problem. A 2023 Medscape study of burnout reports:

“Fifty-three percent of physicians said they are burned out — a big change from our report 5 years ago, before COVID-19 crashed onto the scene. In Medscape’s 2018 report, 42% of physicians said they were burned out. Also, 23% of physicians report depression now compared with 15% of respondents 5 years ago.”

And a February 2023 review by the American Medical Association goes still further, finding that 63% of physicians — nearly two in three — experience some symptoms of burnout.

Whatever the causes that increase the risks of burnout — and there are many — all observers agree that more must be done to protect the mental health of medical providers and their staffs, which is critical for the future of our healthcare system.

The numbers show there is an antidote to burnout

In the spring of 2024, eClinicalWorks conducted a poll of more than 120 healthcare professionals. What we found underlined just how important it is to put AI-powered tools to work at today’s busy practices:

41% of respondents said they were spending four or more hours every day on administrative tasks, including the documentation of patient encounters.
51% believe that AI medical scribes can save them two or more hours of clinical documentation time per provider per day.
68% struggle to extract relevant data from long, complex faxes, which are key sources of patients’ clinical data.
85% believe it is “extremely important” to be able to gather patient records from other organizations and health systems — and the other 15% labeled it “important.”
More than 80% of those we surveyed reported having an average of six or more no-shows each week, meaning unfilled appointment slots and thousands of dollars in lost revenue every year.

Any one of those realities could cause anxiety and stress for providers and staff. Taken together, they help illustrate why so many physicians today feel overwhelmed. But the good news is that these same providers exhibited an understanding that AI-powered healthcare IT tools have demonstrated an ability to help ease their administrative and documentation headaches, help them make more effective use of their limited resources, and even begin to restore work/life balance.

The patient encounter — where AI offers the best support

For nearly two-thirds of respondents, documenting patient encounters was cited as the most important application of an AI medical scribe. For these providers, the technology is seen as facilitating a more meaningful, in-depth conversation as providers can focus on the encounter rather than their computer. Patients, in turn, tend to feel that their concerns are being heard, which leads to higher rates of satisfaction.

AI-powered tools, however, have applications beyond documenting encounters. Nearly a quarter of respondents told us that these tools can have the greatest impact on their practice’s workflows. And 10 percent cited their value for diagnostic, analytic, or other purposes.

Why it’s important to implement an AI medical scribe solution

The complexity of modern healthcare is reflected in an ever-growing number of regulations and mandates that organizations must meet. That, combined with shortages of physicians — particularly in general practice and family care — means that healthcare practices have no choice but to make full use of technology to keep pace with patients’ demands and expectations.

The COVID-19 pandemic made clear just how challenging medicine has become. A survey of more than 43,000 health professionals, conducted between April 2020 and March 2021, showed that half of respondents were experiencing symptoms of burnout. Those symptoms were likely exacerbated by the stresses of the pandemic; while COVID-19 is much better controlled today, it has raised awareness about the need for vigilance and preparation to meet any such challenges in the future.

A summary of AI medical scribe benefits

Practices looking to adopt an AI medical scribe might at first be overwhelmed by the number of choices on the market. But they can narrow the field by using the following key points as a checklist of what to look for in a strong AI medical scribe:

Adaptability

Ease of use is hugely important. Physicians won’t use a product that is overly complex or difficult to navigate. Your AI medical scribe solution should be easy to adopt, feature a user-friendly interface, and integrate seamlessly with existing workflows.

Streamlining Documentation and Workflows

The primary purpose of any AI medical scribe is to streamline clinical documentation, but AI scribes produce draft Progress Notes that must be reviewed by a clinician. The key is to find a solution that yields highly accurate drafts that require a minimum of editing.

Flexibility

When evaluating AI medical scribes, a practice needs to look beyond market share and a handful of positive (or negative) reviews. How a given product works with their EHR matters, as well as whether a solution can be customized to meet providers’ preferences.

Accessibility

An AI medical scribe should be accessible on multiple devices and allow providers to document and edit on the device of their choice. Solutions that can handle languages commonly spoken by the practice’s patients are important for patients’ access to care and satisfaction.

Cost Effectiveness

The best AI medical scribe technology is EHR-agnostic and works for multiple medical specialties. That can help practices continue to offer quality care to all as they expand the range of services they offer and the number of patients they serve — all while keeping costs under control.

Reduced Burnout Risks

An effective AI medical scribe reduces the time providers must spend on documentation, transcription, and data-entry tasks. That can mean a lower risk of burnout, either because staff leave on time each day and don’t have to take work home, or have more time for family and leisure activities.

Improved Patient Care

AI medical scribe empowers physicians to focus on their patients. It allows more “stethoscope time,” meaning the direct, face-to-face interactions that enable providers to understand their patients’ needs, make a proper diagnosis, and improve the overall quality of care.

Why Sunoh.ai is a great choice for your AI medical scribe

Cartoon clipboard with 5 pink checkmarks The key points that make Sunoh an industry leader include:

Organizes a draft Progress Note: Sunoh places the physician’s observations in the correct section of the Note, capturing all the elements that constitute a medical exam, including the History of Present Illness (HPI), Review of Systems, Physical Exam, and more.
Multi-specialty capabilities: Sunoh is not limited to handling transcriptions for primary care or general medicine. It can handle specialty exams, including dermatology, rheumatology, and vision care. Dentists can use Sunoh to handle periodontal charting and other documentation work. And behavioral health providers can switch the format from a standard Progress Note to the DAP note used in their specialty.
Multilingual functionality: Providers can break down language barriers by using Sunoh to document care in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
EHR-agnostic solution: Sunoh is available as a standalone solution that integrates with leading EHR systems, seamlessly adding information to patient records in the EHR of the provider’s choice.
Saves valuable documentation time: Most importantly, many practices report that Sunoh is saving them two hours of documentation time per provider per day, helping improve their efficiency, boost patient satisfaction, and helping doctors get back some personal time so that they can improve their work/life balance.

Let us show you how Sunoh.ai can transform your practice. Book a demo today!

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