3 ways AI medical scribes can benefit your practice (and how to pick the right one)

If you’re like the 75% of Australian doctors experiencing burnout,¹ using an AI medical scribe could help lighten your workload.

The technology – which uses generative AI to automate the creation of clinical documents – promises to help reduce the admin burden doctors face. But the benefits can go far beyond saving time. 

In this article, we’ll explore the advantages of AI medical scribes and what you should consider when trying to choose one for your practice.

You may be familiar with speech-to-text medical dictation software, which has been around for a few years. This type of software only offers a basic transcription of doctor-patient consultations, leaving doctors to manually edit, copy and format the text into clinical documents. 

AI medical scribes go a step further. By using generative AI (similar to ChatGPT), they listen to consultations, extract clinically relevant information and automatically create detailed clinical documents (which still requires review and approval by the doctor). 

For example, Avant Practice Solutions’ VoiceBox Scribe can produce clinical notes, letters, medical certificates and referrals – and can even be customised to create other documents. 

Despite its potential, AI tools like medical scribes remain underutilised in healthcare. Research by the RACGP found that 83% of GPs never or rarely use AI², and Avant’s data revealed that only 11% of doctors use AI medical scribes.³ 

The technology, however, offers significant advantages. Here’s how AI medical scribes can transform daily practice: 

Reduced admin and better work-life balance 

Consider the countless hours you’ve spent writing consultation notes, letters and other documentation. Have you ever found yourself working late into the evening or sacrificing your weekend to catch up on this admin? 

An AI medical scribe can help take this burden off your plate. It can help you cut down on the significant amount of unpaid admin you may be currently forced to perform. 

Enhanced patient care 

AI medical scribes help doctors focus fully on their patients during consultations. Freed from typing notes, they can maintain eye contact and engage in meaningful conversations. 

One of the largest pilot programs of AI medical scribes, involving 10,000 doctors in a US regional healthcare system, found that doctors reported more personal and meaningful interactions. As one doctor noted, “I even had a patient praise the fact that I could listen instead of type during the visit.” 

Locally, the RACGP’s Health of the Nation 2024 report shared similar feedback: 

“It enables me to look at the patient and have a great consultation,” one GP said. “Their story unfolds naturally, and I no longer feel the need to interrupt for clarification. Medico-legally, my notes are more detailed. I am enjoying my work more since adopting this technology.” 

More accurate, detailed documentation 

Given they listen to an entire consultation and quickly extract the most relevant details, AI medical scribes can help produce more detailed clinical notes and documents.  

For instance, with VoiceBox Scribe, you can create multiple documents using the same source data (i.e. the recorded consultation). This eliminates the need to copy and paste notes, reducing many inaccuracies that can be caused by human error. 

Another benefit of AI scribes is that doctors typically develop the habit of verbalising certain details during consultations to ensure they’re recorded. This not only provides more detail for documentation, but also helps patient understanding. 

Here are four qualities to look for when choosing a scribe for your practice:

1. A reputable, tested solution 

Not all AI scribes are built for healthcare. Those specifically designed for healthcare are trained on clinical data and capable of identifying medically significant information.  

However, even AI scribes designed for healthcare may pose quality or safety risks. Currently, AI scribes fall outside the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s regulatory framework for medical devices, leaving them without regulatory oversight. 

It’s therefore important to seek a solution from a trusted provider. VoiceBox Scribe, for example, is backed by Avant’s reputation as Australia’s largest medical indemnity insurer. It has been rigorously tested to help ensure it’s fit for clinical settings and compliant with data privacy legislation.   

2. Integrations with practice software 

If an AI medical scribe doesn’t integrate with your existing systems – like your practice management or messaging platforms – you need to spend time manually transferring data between your scribe and these platforms. 

VoiceBox Scribe helps eliminate this issue by being able to be integrated with practice management solutions Best Practice, Bp VIP.net and Gentu. 

It also connects with messaging platforms HealthLink and Medical-Objects, allowing you to send referral letters directly, eliminating the need for manual uploads.

3. Customisation  

Many AI scribes can only create a few types of documents, like referral letters or clinical notes, with no ability to customise output. However, VoiceBox Scribe offers customisable templates to automate the creation of documents you need. 

4. Cost-effectiveness 

Many AI scribes require signing up for a monthly or annual subscription, which means no matter how much you use your AI scribe, you pay a flat rate.  

VoiceBox Scribe offers pay-per-use pricing, with an hourly fee. This flexibility makes it a cost-efficient choice for practices of all sizes, helping to ensure you only pay for what you need. Plus, with VoiceBox Scribe, your first hour of use every week is free. 

Learn more about the benefits of VoiceBox Scribe or sign up today to see how it can help you automate clinical documentation and reduce admin.

^{1. “Health and wellbeing of doctors and medical students,” Australian Medical Association, 2020}

^{2. “Health of the Nation,” RACGP, 2024}

^{3. Media Release, November 2024}