CanadaHealthcare and life sciences2024OntarioMD (Ontario primary care practices)
AI scribe evaluation in primary care
In a three-month Ontario trial, 150 family doctors and nurse practitioners reported 70–90% less time on paperwork with AI scribes
Problem
The Ontario Medical Association says family doctors spend about 19 hours a week on administrative tasks. The province set a goal of cutting physician paperwork, estimating that its measures could free up to 95,000 physician hours a year.
Approach
OntarioMD, a subsidiary of the Ontario Medical Association, led a three-month evaluation in which more than 150 family doctors and nurse practitioners used AI scribes that draft clinical notes from patient conversations, with patient consent. The Ministry of Health funded it through Ontario Health; the eHealth Centre of Excellence and Women's College Hospital's Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care were partners. Bots that act on tasks noted by the scribe, such as appointment reminders, were tested alongside.
Results
Takeaway
The evaluation focused on reducing physician paperwork, with less emphasis on individual practices' cost savings. The time savings were clinicians' own estimates from a three-month evaluation.
Categories
- Size
- Small business
- Industry
- Healthcare and life sciences
- Business function
- Internal work and knowledge managementCustomer service
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AIConversational and voice AI
- Adoption
- Government support program
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
OntarioMD reports the evaluation with more than 150 family doctors and nurse practitioners over three months, funded by the Ministry of Health through Ontario Health. Participants reported 70% to 90% less time on paperwork and 3 to 4 hours a week saved; 83% would use a scribe long term and 82% would recommend one. It cites the medical association's estimate of 19 administrative hours a week and notes consent and privacy rules.
Canadian Healthcare Technology reports on the OntarioMD evaluation and its partners. It adds that 79% of participants said they could spend more time on patient care and 76% reported less information overload during visits. It quotes the medical association's chief executive in favor of giving AI scribes to every doctor in the province, and ties the results to the government's Patients Before Paperwork initiative.
Full details are in the original sources.
