AI scribes: rapid uptake in 6 months

Use of AI scribes for clinical documentation looks likely to become commonplace. According to our research, use by members went from 11% in August 2024 to 19% in February 2025.

Overall feedback from early adopters has been positive. Most tell us that while they take a little getting used to, AI scribes are a valuable tool for managing clinical documentation workloads.

If you’re unsure about embracing this new technology, we have developed a collection of articles and resources to provide guidance and assistance in this rapidly evolving space. Artificial intelligence: what you need to know

An AI scribe is like an admin assistant. The tool ‘listens’ to consultations and then, using generative AI technology, drafts structured clinical notes, patient information sheets and referral and correspondence letters, as required.

The AI scribes are more sophisticated than a dictation tool, which generally just stores recordings on a device such as a mobile phone, and uses voice-to-text technology to generate a transcript from the audio.   

Many of our members using an AI scribe have found it streamlines and speeds up the consultation and note-taking process. They say it also picks up additional details they had forgotten. By reducing the administrative and cognitive load, members feel they can produce more comprehensive patient records and reclaim time in their day.

Members also say using an AI scribe allows them to be more present during the consultation and connect better with the patient, because they are not typing notes.

As with a human assistant, AI scribes can make mistakes, so you need to check their work. They can mishear and make errors such as names of people, places and medications. Some members also indicated that scribes could mix up left and right.

Correctly capturing physical examinations can also be difficult for AI scribes. They ‘listen’ but do not ‘see’, which means important non-verbal cues may be missed. Clinicians may need to adapt their consultation style to verbalise their observations (for example, confirming the side of the body the patient has pain), or add important context to the note once the patient has left the room.

It’s important to be mindful of these shortcomings. Make sure you check and correct the output generated by an AI scribe before accepting, finalising and incorporating the content into the patient’s record. Remember, the output is a draft, and you are always responsible for reviewing the content of notes entered into the patient’s record.

It’s crucial to obtain informed patient consent before using an AI scribe. This should involve sharing information about the scribe with patients, initially at the front desk, then taking the time to explain to the patient how the tool works when you first introduce it. Once the patient has consented to the use of an AI scribe the first time, a quick check that they are still comfortable will suffice for subsequent consultations.

AI scribes currently fall outside the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s medical device regulatory regime, so are not subject to any regulatory oversight. That’s why we are advocating to government for mandatory minimum standards for all AI tools used in healthcare, including AI scribes.

These standards should address:

• privacy and security
• transparency and explainability regarding how the tool works and how it has been trained
• record keeping, access to meta data and access to historical information for a suitable time frame
• service agreements, including the appropriate use of disclaimers and indemnity clause
• safeguards to reduce the risk of patient harm, including monitoring and error and adverse event reporting
• insurance and indemnity cover.

Many members have asked us whether we can recommend an AI scribe to use in clinical practice.

Avant’s VoiceBox Scribe has been developed with input from our medico-legal experts as a secure solution for doctors who are looking for a tool to help reduce their admin overload and create structured clinical documents.

For medico-legal advice, please contact us here, or call 1800 128 268, 24/7 in emergencies.