The Hidden Human Costs of Ambient Scribes

Artificial intelligence (AI) ambient scribes have been widely deployed across a variety of health care systems with the aim of alleviating documentation burden, reducing burnout, and restoring the humanity of care ( 1 ). Yet, despite a rapidly growing body of research that quantifies physician interaction with AI scribes, considerable uncertainty remains about their larger impact, including when, where, and for whom ambient scribes provide benefit ( 2 ). Evidence about the short- and long-term effects of AI scribes on clinicians and patients remains limited ( 3 ), and this notable gap in the literature raises questions about the hidden costs of implementing …