How Stanford Doctors Use Ai Scribes To Cut Paperwork And Focus On Patients

Your expert sits crossed from you, afloat present, listening—not typing aliases glancing astatine a screen. Yet each important item you stock makes it into your aesculapian record. This is nan imagination of Christopher Sharp, a expert astatine Stanford Health Care and main aesculapian accusation serviceman astatine Stanford University Medical Center. For Sharp, exertion shouldn’t create barriers betwixt doctors and patients; it should free clinicians from tiring administrative tasks truthful they tin supply amended care. At Stanford, he was an early adopter of artificial intelligence devices to transcribe and analyse aesculapian histories.

Sharp arrived astatine Stanford University School of Medicine arsenic a resident successful soul medicine successful nan precocious 1990s. A postgraduate of Dartmouth College’s Geisel School of Medicine, he continues to spot patients arsenic a superior attraction expert astatine Stanford Health Care—and it is this activity that astir intelligibly teaches him nan benefits and risks of technology.

Scientific American said to Sharp astir really AI is changing medicine and really to usage it to support patients and doctors.

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[An edited transcript of nan question and reply follows.]

Why did you determine to statesman moving pinch AI astatine Stanford?

AI provides an important model to entree information locked up successful narratives location successful nan grounds that would beryllium very difficult to place aliases find. It besides provides nan opportunity to utilize information successful caller ways that does not require arsenic overmuch effort by our clinicians.

Our clinicians walk a batch of clip digging done physics data, summarizing it and making decisions. Documentation is very important—it’s really we convey objective accusation forward, mitigate risk, and meet legal, compliance and billing requirements. But each of that creates added load and is not nan superior worth of providing nonstop care. AI devices that thief pinch those administrative functions are a really large triumph for our objective providers.

How does it thief pinch summarizing diligent records?

We usage a instrumentality that summarizes nan cardinal activities described successful clinician notes. It helps america say, “The medicine expert has been treating them for test A and B, nan urologist has seen them for test C, nan neurologist seeing them for test E”—without our having to spell into each area of nan floor plan manually. What makes this powerful is that it has citations, which let nan expert to do validation and deeper exploration.

The different breathtaking instrumentality is thing we telephone ChatEHR (“EHR” stands for physics wellness record). Different clinicians person different questions astatine immoderate fixed moment, truthful we’ve started experimenting pinch an unfastened level wherever users tin usage a chat interface to prosecute pinch diligent data. It offers elasticity to inquire astir a definite facet of attraction and past continues chatting to spell deeper.

Can you springiness an illustration of really ChatEHR has been useful?

We needed to surface aggregate charts to find patients eligible for a peculiar attraction pathway. Previously, galore group had to publication done charts manually. We utilized ChatEHR to experiment, and erstwhile optimized, built it into an automation. With a azygous click, aggregate charts could beryllium reviewed and presented backmost to 1 screener. For instance, immoderate patients mightiness beryllium eligible to spell to a little acuity portion alternatively than to nan wide infirmary wherever they’re mixed pinch higher-acuity patients. If we tin place those patients, we tin thief them spell to nan astir due location of care. What mightiness return hours now takes minutes.

You besides usage ambient AI scribe package that listens to appointments. How has that been received?

This has been 1 of our biggest successes. We rolled it retired much than a twelvemonth agone pinch very accelerated adoption. The AI scribe is easy adoptable—clinicians usage their telephone to perceive to nan conversation, create a transcript and make a aesculapian summary wrong a infinitesimal of completing nan interaction.

It’s medically focused. If you and your diligent person a agelong chat astir their play crippled earlier discussing their objective problem, that won’t beryllium transcribed into nan summarization. Only nan clinically important points appear.

Has this reduced expert burnout?

Absolutely. Our clinicians felt this attack was overmuch amended successful position of their cognitive load and their wide wellness successful nan workplace. The cognitive activity of summarizing specified a speech is significant. I should statement we thought we’d spot tremendous efficiency—that doctors mightiness spell location sooner aliases spot much patients because they’d walk little clip documenting. What we recovered was that clinicians spent a adjacent magnitude of clip reviewing, editing and approving nan documentation, truthful they weren’t taking overmuch little time. It wasn’t ratio they gained arsenic overmuch arsenic reduced cognitive burden.

You besides usage AI to draught responses to diligent messages. How is that working?

We saw a 200 percent summation successful diligent messaging during COVID, and it hasn’t gone down. That created a situation for clinicians to sorb each that engagement. We were 1 of nan first successful nan federation to usage AI-generated draught responses arsenic starting points. This requires clinicians to measure for accuracy and voice—patients for illustration proceeding backmost from their clinician successful their ain voice. Again, this is not an immense time-saver, but it reduces nan load of coming up pinch connection that is some meticulous and empathetic. It creates nan opportunity for clinicians to walk much clip honing connection alternatively than processing it from scratch. The AI besides looks backmost astatine accusation successful nan patient’s floor plan for context. I’ve been struck that sometimes it reminds maine of thing I mightiness not person remembered myself.

Where do you spot this exertion going next?

The improvement is amazingly quick. The AI scribe had galore much errors erstwhile we started than it does today. We’re besides seeing additions. We’re experimenting pinch suggested orders. If I say, “I want to make judge you get a thorax x-ray to norm retired pneumonia,” nan listening instrumentality tin tee up that bid for reappraisal and approval.

The adjacent important alteration will beryllium erstwhile these technologies go much straight disposable to patients. Instead of navigating our portal, patients whitethorn beryllium capable to conscionable inquire a mobility and person AI navigate to nan correct interaction.

With doctors’ cognitive load decreasing, do you deliberation we’ll yet spot differences successful diligent outcomes?

This is nan beatified grail—tools truthful beneficial that we’d spot changes successful care. We’ve not studied this capable to cognize yet. But location are fascinating studies showing that clip of time affects care—patients who are seen early are much apt to person preventive attraction reminders discussed than [those who are seen] precocious successful nan day, erstwhile doctors are tired. My dream is that these devices will moreover retired those unwanted variations.

Is location a circumstantial infinitesimal that convinced you this was nan correct path?

I vividly callback sitting pinch a diligent who told maine astir really her sister had died. It was important not to beryllium typing and conscionable to beryllium really looking astatine her and supporting her. During that conversation, she shared important specifications astir her family’s wellness history. I ne'er reached complete to my keyboard to archive those objective details, but they were captured by nan AI.

I was struck erstwhile I publication nan summarization—it simply said nan patient’s sister had died and noted her wellness condition, moreover though I’d had a very affectional relationship pinch my diligent during that moment. That was an illustration wherever nan instrumentality did what nan instrumentality does really well, and I did what a quality does well.

A type of this article appeared successful nan March 2026 rumor of Scientific American arsenic “Christopher Sharp.”