The New Quiet Partner in Telehealth

Al scribes trim paperwork in telehealth, giving doctors more time with patients.

3 Jun 2025

Al-powered "ambient scribes" are beginning to reshape telehealth in the US, with health providers reporting significant gains in efficiency and reduced administrative burden for doctors.

The technology listens to patient-doctor conversations during video consultations and automatically produces clinical notes, removing one of the most time-consuming tasks for physicians. The Permanente Medical Group has logged more than 2.5mn encounters with Al scribes in the past 15 months, reclaiming about 16,000 hours of physician time. For heavy users, the shift amounts to an additional hour available per day.

Use of the tools comes amid rising demand for telehealth services and growing concerns about staff burnout. Analysts say that excessive documentation requirements often distract clinicians from patient care, while automation can help return focus to the consultation itself.

Patients are required to give consent before scribes are activated, and most providers say the technology processes audio securely without long-term storage. Companies such as Abridge and Microsoft-owned Nuance are integrating the software into electronic health records and telehealth platforms. Early reviews suggest fewer errors, faster appointment scheduling, and less clerical work.

Concerns remain about accuracy and the potential for missed nuance in clinical interactions. Industry specialists note that human oversight remains necessary, though quality checks show Al-generated notes are approaching human-level reliability, with advantages in consistency and clarity.

The adoption of digital scribes is seen as a step toward scaling virtual care without proportional increases in staff. Health systems facing labour shortages view the technology as a strategic investment, even as debates continue over privacy standards and regulatory oversight.

Telehealth, once seen as a temporary measure during the pandemic, has become a permanent feature of healthcare delivery in the US. Providers now face the challenge of maintaining quality and accessibility at scale. For many, Al scribes offer one of the few near-term tools to address both.