Harnessing the power of AI scribe technology to reduce burnout and enhance care
The problem
As a result of the shift from paper to electronic medical records over the past decade, family physicians now spend an average of 45% of their clinical hours interacting with a computer rather than a patient. This has led to an erosion in the quality of physician-patient interactions and an increase in physician burnout and career dissatisfaction. These factors have contributed significantly to the shortage of family physicians today in Ontario and a diminishing interest in family medicine among medical learners.
The solution
Ambient scribe technology, powered by AI, has the potential to bring much-needed support into primary care clinics by transcribing patient-physician conversations in real time and enhancing medical record documentation. This initiative will support the two-year implementation and evaluation of Autoscribe, a Canadian AI scribe, to assess its impact of alleviating family physician burnout and improving patient-centered care in Ontario. By evaluating and supporting the implementation of Autoscribe, we hope to accelerate its adoption across healthcare settings, leading to substantial benefits for family doctors and Ontario's health system.
"The biggest benefit of the AI scribe for me is that it has increased the quality of the patient-physician encounter. Without the stress of documentation, or deferring charting to after-hours, I can focus entirely on the patient and what they are telling me. Then, I can fully focus on generating a plan and discussing next steps. This has created a better experience for my patients, and for me as a clinician.”
The innovators
The initiative is led by the Office of Health System Partnerships in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at University of Toronto in collaboration with East Toronto Health Partners, East Toronto Family Practice Network, North York Toronto Health Partners, North York Toronto Primary Care Network, Scarborough Ontario Health Team, Scarborough Family Physicians Network, KW4 Ontario Health Team, eHealth Centre of Excellence and Mutuo Health Solutions.