We measured what AI scribes do to consultation quality
Clinicians using ambient documentation looked at their patients 41% more of the time. Note accuracy needed guardrails.
Dr. Hana Kimura
Neurologist · Research Lead
Typing during a consultation costs attention. We instrumented 1,200 video consults to find out how much.
With ambient AI documentation enabled, clinicians spent 41% more of the consultation looking at the camera rather than a second screen. Patients rated 'felt listened to' materially higher.
Accuracy was the harder problem. Draft notes were clinically acceptable without edits in 68% of cases; the remaining third contained at least one error worth correcting, most often a medication dose or a negated symptom recorded as present.
Our conclusion is that these systems are excellent stenographers and poor clinicians. We ship them as drafts that require explicit sign-off, and we log every edit to keep improving the model.
Clinically reviewed
Reviewed by the HealthSpire clinical board on Jul 4, 2026. This article is general health information, not a diagnosis. If your symptoms are severe or worsening, contact a clinician or your local emergency service.
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