There’s a lot of paperwork in health care. In fact, according to a national survey of physicians conducted by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), two-thirds say administrative tasks have increased over the last five years. More than half (60%) say that’s a direct contributor to worsening mental health, and 75% say it interferes with patient care.
In search of innovative solutions, some providers are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) scribes for help. By recording patient interactions, synthesizing information and generating detailed notes, the technology allows doctors to focus on patients without adding to the paperwork they're already tackling after clinical hours.
“We already have a physician shortage that is felt across Canada,” says Dr. Siddhartha Srivastava, physician lead for the Lumeo Health Information System at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. “We must work smarter, not harder, to reduce the administrative burden on physicians and prevent them from leaving the profession.”
Dr. Srivastava is part of a multi-disciplinary team that, with support from the Health Care Unburdened Grant program, will put generative AI applications to the test at six Ontario hospitals, including facilities offering specialty and post-acute care as well as those serving rural communities.
This grant is part of the Canadian Medical Association, MD Financial Management Inc. and Scotiabank’s long-standing, joint commitment to supporting physicians and the communities they serve across Canada. It will also allow the University of Alberta to collaborate with emergency departments in that province to deploy Jenkins, an open-source AI scribing software.
"In a strained health care system, we are constantly asked for more,” says Jenkins creator Dr. Michael Weldon. “AI scribing represents a future where something can finally come off our plate instead."
Although all doctors are suffering from the burden of administrative tasks, family doctors are particularly in need of relief. The CMA’s survey found that general practitioners are significantly more likely (61%) to say the time they spend on electronic medical records (EMRs) at home is “excessive” or “moderately high” compared to their specialist colleagues (39%).
To reduce the stress on physicians in primary care, the University of Toronto has received a grant to implement and evaluate AutoScribe at nine family practices over two years.
“Without the stress of documentation or deferring charting to after-hours, I can focus entirely on the patient and what they are telling me,” says Dr. Marco Lo, a family physician and member of the East Toronto Family Practice Network taking part in the rollout of the AI tool.
Like any new technology, AI is not without risks. Generative AI relies heavily on the datasets used to train its algorithms — which means bias, inaccurate information or other errors could be baked into systems if they are not properly overseen. Increased use of AI also raises privacy and security concerns, particularly around sensitive health information.
But if AI is not a silver bullet, these programs will help clinicians and administrators evaluate its benefits and limitations in their unique settings before scaling applications.
“The key thing we’re looking for is having physicians able to go home on time at the end of their clinic, the end of their day, having to spend less time in the system outside of working hours," says Dr. Srivastava.
The Health Care Unburdened Grant program is part of the Canadian Medical Association,
MD Financial Management Inc. and Scotiabank’s long-standing, joint commitment to supporting physicians and the communities they serve across Canada.
CMA is working in collaboration with Healthcare Excellence Canada (HEC) to support selected teams through coaching, focused learning activities, networking and knowledge-sharing.