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AI Scribes: Are We Measuring What Matters?

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Unlabelled: Artificial intelligence (AI) scribes, software that can convert speech into concise clinical documents, have achieved remarkable clinical adoption at a pace rarely seen for digital technologies in health care. The reasons for this are understandable: the technology works well enough, it addresses a genuine pain point for clinicians, and it has largely sidestepped regulatory requirements. In many ways, clinical adoption of AI scribes has also occurred well ahead of robust evidence of their safety and efficacy. The papers in this theme issue demonstrate real progress in the technology and evidence of its benefit: documentation times are reported to decrease when using scribes, clinicians report feeling less burdened, and the notes produced are often of reasonable quality. Yet as we survey the emerging evidence base, there remains one outstanding and urgent unanswered question: Are AI scribes safe? We need to know the clinical outcomes achievable when scribes are used compared to other forms of note taking.

Source: JMIR Medical Informatics

DOI: 10.2196/89337

Authors: Enrico Coiera, David Fraile-Navarro

Institution: Macquarie University

Language: English

Topic: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education

Subfield: Health Informatics

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,300