Sacramento, California- August 29, 2025-In today’s fast-paced healthcare world, doctors are busier than ever, juggling between patient care and paperwork. AI scribes are digital tools that help by taking notes during appointments, so in return, your healthcare providers can spend more time focusing on you and your needs.
What is an ‘artificial intelligence scribe’? In short, an AI scribe is a tool that helps automate parts of the clinical documentation process for doctors (Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes, n.d.). They can transform discussions with patients into documentation like notes, summaries, or referral letters. AI scribes are known by several other names, depending on the context and technology used. They may be referred to as virtual scribes, ambient AI scribes, AI documentation assistants, or digital, virtual, or smart clinical assistants. While the terminology varies, each of these terms describes tools designed to support clinicians by capturing and generating clinical documentation during or after a patient visit, streamlining the note-taking process, allowing healthcare providers to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks (AI Scribes for Clinicians: How Ambient Listening in Medicine Works and Future AI Use Cases, 2025).
AI scribes work by using technology like automatic speech recognition (ASR) and natural language processing (NLP) to accurately convert spoken conversations into written text. These advancements have made AI scribes much more reliable and useful in clinical settings. During visits, a microphone captures the conversation between the general practitioner (GP) and the patient. The AI scribe then transcribes the audio into text, creating clinical notes or other relevant documentation. It is important to note that the audio itself is not stored by the software vendor. This means it cannot be later accessed by the patient, the GP, or any third party, which helps protect your privacy and maintain data security. GPs may have to go in after the visit and add or retract any incorrect or missing information. Once everything is finalized, the GP signs off the final version of the notes, which are ready to be used during your next visit (Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes, n.d.).
This newer technology offers several benefits for both GPs and patients. By handling the documentation process, these tools allow GPs to focus more on the conversation with the patient rather than typing notes during the visit. This leads to a more natural and engaged interaction, which can improve patient satisfaction. AI scribes also save the GPs time by automating part of the note-taking process, reducing the amount of administrative work required after each appointment. Over time, this can lead to a significant reduction in workload and help lower the risk of burnout, which is a growing issue among healthcare professionals (AI Scribes for Clinicians: How Ambient Listening in Medicine Works and Future AI Use Cases, 2025).
AI scribes present several potential problems that could impact the accuracy, safety, and reliability of clinical documentation. These systems may produce incomplete notes by omitting key information such as test results, hospital reports, or device data. Important clinical details might be mistakenly filtered out as irrelevant, and the AI may misinterpret symptoms or medications due to accents, slang, or poor audio quality. Additionally, AI scribes can confuse historical and current symptoms, meaning they must thoroughly check AI-generated notes, potentially increasing their workload rather than reducing it (Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes, n.d.).
Despite some issues, AI scribes are mostly helpful in healthcare. They save doctors time by writing notes automatically, which means doctors can focus more on their patients. They also help reduce stress and make record-keeping more consistent. If doctors check their notes for accuracy, AI scribes can improve both the quality and speed of care. At the Sacramento Native American Health Center, our medical team are proud users of AI scribes to improve patient care. We are committed to providing high quality, holistic, and innovative health care and AI scribes help streamline the note-taking processes which allow our providers to engage in more meaningful conversations. These tools are valuable in our comprehensive care model, where collaboration between behavioral health, medical, and dental providers is essential. By reducing the administrative burden, AI scribes give our medical providers more time to focus on patient-centered care. As we continue to embrace new technologies with our holistic and modern care approach, AI scribes will remain as part of our commitment to the five functions and attributes of being a Patient-Centered Health Home (PCHH): Comprehensive Care, Patient-Centeredness, Coordinated Care, Accessible Services, and delivering Quality and Safety.
Sacramento Native American Health Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Federally Qualified Health Center committed to continue and share the legacy of a healthy American Indian / Alaska Native community based on cultural values delivered through a traditional, innovative and accessible patient-centered health home. SNAHC offers primary care, oral health, behavioral health, specialty, and supportive services in Midtown and South Sacramento plus a school-based health center. We are open to all, and all are welcome. For more information on SNAHC, visit www.snahc.org or call 916-341-0575 for an appointment.
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