B.C. doctors are using AI scribes to record patients’ visits. Could this reduce wait times?
AI scribes are becoming popular in B.C., with doctors reporting they save an average of 2.7 hours per week in administrative work.
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The use of AI scribes by physicians to record patients’ visits has become increasingly popular in B.C., to ease the burden of after-hours paperwork.
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Some have raised privacy and accuracy concerns, but experts seem to agree the benefits are significant, and could lead to reduced strain on the health-care system. The practice was a recent hot topic of debate in an episode of the Emmy-winning medical drama The Pitt when a new physician plans to improve efficiencies using a new artificial intelligence system.
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B.C. doctors are using AI scribes to record patients’ visits. Could this reduce wait times? Back to video
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To assess the benefits and risks, Doctors of B.C. launched a pilot program in 2024 that ran over two years to determine whether the practice would improve efficiency.
More than 30 community-based physicians used an AI scribe for up to six weeks and then provided data and filled out surveys. The AI scribes were used for more than 7,000 appointments, averaging 270 appointments per physician.
Here’s a look at why more doctors are using AI tools for patient visits:
What is an AI scribe?
An AI scribe is an artificial intelligence tool that listens to patient-physician conversations and automatically generates medical notes and summaries in real time.
Do doctors need to ask consent before recording visits?
Both the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. and Doctors of B.C. have provided guidance for AI use in health care, including information on using scribes, predictive analytics, virtual health assistants, diagnostic support and personalized treatment plans.
The College does advise physicians to obtain informed consent verbally or in writing. This should include telling patients about how the technology works, the benefits and potential risks, as well as measures taken to mitigate those risks.
Dr. Adam Thompson, president of the Doctors of B.C. and a family physician in Courtenay, said it’s important for patients to know they can withdraw their consent at any time without impact to the quality of their care.
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What are the benefits for doctors and patients?
Clinical psychiatrist Dr. John-Jose Nunez, an assistant professor at the University of B.C. and an expert in using AI in health care, said AI scribes are becoming very popular because not only do they free up time on paperwork, they also mean the physician can focus more on actively listening to the patient than they could if listening while note-taking.
“Some of the academic literature has shown some folks have said that it doesn’t save time while others say that it does save time, but what seems to be quite consistent is actually that it reduces the cognitive load, the cognitive burden on physicians,” said Nunez. “It’s much less tiring to edit the note afterwards, versus having to write it ourselves, which hopefully means there’s less propensity for burnout among physicians that are using these tools.”
Thompson agreed it’s improving the patient experience “because you can spend more time with direct eye contact with the patient. You’re not looking at a screen.”
How accurate are AI scribes at note-taking?
Errors happen, but doctors will review the notes to ensure the AI got it right as they are ultimately responsible for making sure the notes are accurate, says Nunez.
Accents and dialects can affect the recording but Nunez says the technology is advancing at a rapid pace so he expects that aspect will improve with time.
Thompson said physicians still report AI “hallucinations,” which is when the AI misinterprets what’s been said, or misinterprets context. He added the AI can struggle at times with accents or complex clinical conversations.
“It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly there as an assistant for physicians in chart-writing, rather than taking over that role. It’s more of an assistance piece,” said Thompson.
How widespread is the use of AI scribes in B.C.?
Thompson estimated about 3,300 doctors working through the health authorities are using AI scribes, and about 3,000 community-based physicians are using them as well. There are approximately 16,000 practising physicians in B.C.
He added that while he doesn’t use scribes yet at his practice, he’ll likely start using them later this year because they have been shown to reduce administrative burden and physician burnout.
What were some of the key findings of the Doctors of B.C. pilot project?
According to Doctors of B.C., participating physicians reported a reduction in cognitive burden, saying using an AI scribe is “practice-changing” and lets them “just be doctors.”
For instance, they estimated an average reduction of 2.7 hours per week in administrative work for family physicians and a reduction in after-appointment documentation time, averaging 3.4 minutes per appointment per family physician, which, at 100 appointments per week, could lead to a weekly savings of 5.7 hours.
The pilot also found that 97 per cent of participants would recommend using an AI scribe to their colleagues and 78 per cent felt that having more time to use an AI scribe as part of their workflow would lead to more practice efficiencies.
Patients also had positive experiences, with 78 per cent agreeing they felt their doctor was able to pay more attention to them than during previous visits without the AI scribe.
Can patients check their notes?
Yes. Nunez said patients can always request copies of their notes.
“That’s an important thing to know — that all patients have a right to know and their medical records are always accessible.”
What are some of the privacy issues?
B.C. residents may have concerns that their notes are being stored by AI companies. However, Nunez said there are restrictions in B.C. and doctors must use programs that delete the voice recording after a certain amount of time and use medical AI scribes that aren’t being used for training other AI models.
He also said B.C. health authorities set guidelines about which scribes that physicians can use to ensure privacy and security.
“So there is some degree of privacy that’s maintained,” he said, adding that he encourages patients to speak to their physicians if they have any concerns about AI scribes and privacy issues.
Thompson added that doctors need to ensure they understand how their data has been collected and stored by any AI tool and communicate that with the patient if requested.
B.C. has a wait-list crisis to see specialists. Could AI help reduce wait times?
Both Nunez and Thompson agree that widespread adoption of AI scribes could help ease wait times.
“As an AI researcher myself, my vision of AI is that it’ll actually allow physicians to concentrate on their patients more and bring us back to the health-care system that’s really all about the doctor-patient-clinician relationship, and not about the administrative burden,” said Nunez. “By reducing administrative burden we should be able to see more patients.”
Added Thompson: “A lot of charting is done late in the evening for a physician, which leads to increased burnout. And so if you’ve got more burnout, that is another contributor to physicians reducing their hours or reducing their patient contact. So that’s another key piece. Reducing physician burnout will support more clinical care.”
What is the federal government doing?
In February, the federal government introduced Bill S-5, which if passed would allow digital health information to be safely shared across systems.
The bill would prohibit “data-blocking,” a practice that can leave medical clinics and institutions facing denials, long waits, unreadable data dumps or excessive fees when they try to add third-party software, switch vendors, migrate or “extract” patient records, according to the Canadian Medical Association.
The bill supports AI innovation by ensuring standardized, secure, data-sharing, allowing AI models to improve diagnostics, treatment and system efficiency, according to the federal government.
