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Machine learning

Artificial Intelligence Scribes in Healthcare: A Systematic Review of Benefits and Challenges

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Research conducted at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, has shed light on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) scribes in healthcare. The study, published in the journal Applied Clinical Informatics in 2025, aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of AI scribes in reducing documentation time and improving clinician satisfaction, while also identifying potential challenges. The researchers searched databases including Embase, Embase Classic, and Ovid Medline, and conducted a manual review of the New England Journal of Medicine AI studies published after 2021. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria, with ten published in 2024.

Key Takeaways:

  • The most frequently used AI scribe was Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) (n=7, 64%), which was used in 64% of the included studies.
  • Clinicians reported improved documentation quality, but AI scribe accuracy varied, frequently requiring manual edits and raising occasional concerns about errors.
  • Ten studies reported improvements in at least one efficiency metric, and ten studies highlighted positive impacts on clinician wellness and burnout.
  • Patient experience was assessed in three studies, all reporting favorable outcomes.
  • The researchers identified variable adoption, performance limitations, and gaps in evaluation as critical challenges in implementing AI scribes.

Statistics:

  • 64% of the included studies used the Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) AI scribe (n=7).
  • 10 studies reported improvements in at least one efficiency metric.
  • 10 studies highlighted positive impacts on clinician wellness and burnout.
  • 3 studies reported favorable patient experience outcomes.

Sources:

  • Special Topic on Burnout: Clinical Implementation of Artificial Intelligence Scribes in Healthcare: A Systematic Review. Applied Clinical Informatics, 2025.
  • Georg Thieme Verlag Kg, Rudigerstr 14, D-70469 Stuttgart, Germany.
  • Amy Rebecca Zipursky, Dept. of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
  • Hadeel Hassan, Naveed Rabbani, Jacqueline Guan-Ting You, Gabriel Tse, Evan Orenstein, Chase Richard Parsons, Karim Jessa, Greg Lawton, H. Stella Shin, Lillian Sung, and Adam Paul Yan.

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