Peterson Institute Releases Report on Ambient Scribe Technology
A new report from the Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI) highlights the potential benefits and uncertainties surrounding the implementation of ambient scribe technology in healthcare. While the technology shows promise in alleviating clinician burnout, the PHTI report indicates that its financial impact on health systems remains unclear.
The findings are based on extensive interviews and discussions with healthcare leaders, AI company representatives, and industry experts involved in PHTI’s AI Taskforce. The report details the mixed adoption rates of ambient scribes among physicians, with variations in usage patterns. Some clinicians are heavy users, others use the technology for some visits, while others show low or no usage.
According to the report, “Several organizations observed that the clinicians who saw the greatest benefit were those who had not yet optimized their documentation workflows, were consistently behind in notes, spent more time in conversation with their patients, or typically had longer summary notes.”
Dr. Christopher Longhurst, M.D., M.S., chief clinical and innovation officer at UC San Diego Health and executive director of the Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, noted, “User experience and rigorous outcomes analysis are critical for getting any new technology right, especially one with such immense potential.” He further added that his health system’s experience with ambient scribes would inform future decisions regarding implementation and performance measurement, based on insights from PHTI’s AI Taskforce.
The report also examines how ambient scribe companies are differentiating themselves in a competitive market. They are expanding the user base to include nurses and other clinical roles, integrating into revenue cycle and administrative workflows, deepening integration into clinical processes, and offering specialized, customized solutions.
While the evidence supporting enhanced efficiency through reduced documentation time is currently limited, the PHTI report suggests that technological advancements and improved implementation processes may lead to more significant time savings in the future.
The report further suggests that ambient scribes’ integration into coding practices may influence healthcare spending. Given existing incentive structures, this may result in higher-level coding that could increase healthcare costs. The report discovered that the few published peer-reviewed studies have yielded mixed outcomes due to varying methods. The development of standardized metrics is essential for a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of these solutions, including clinician, patient, and financial impacts.
Senior executives from CommonSpirit Health, Intermountain Health, Mass General Brigham, MultiCare, Ochsner Health, Providence, UC San Diego Health, and Yale New Haven Health contributed to the Taskforce. The Taskforce was co-led by Prabhjot Singh, MD, PhD, and Margaret McKenna, both advisors to PHTI. Other participating experts represented a wide range of organizations, including Abridge, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Commure, DeepScribe, Elion, Flare Capital Partners, Fourier Health, HLM Investment Partners, Infinitus Systems, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Nabla, Oliver Wyman, Oracle Health, R1, Stanford Health Care, Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, Suki, and UPMC. Manatt Health provided facilitation and research support for the Taskforce.
