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Assessing the Efficacy and Impact of Ambient AI Scribes in Healthcare

Assessing the Efficacy and Impact of Ambient AI Scribes in Healthcare: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07113938
Enrollment
64
Registered
2025-08-11
Start date
2025-08-31
Completion date
2025-08-31
Last updated
2025-08-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Patient-Phyisican Interaction, Physician Burnout, Physician Workload, Use of Ambient AI Scribes

Keywords

artificial intelligence, physician workload, physician burnout, documentation quality

Brief summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the impacts of ambient AI scribes on the workload and burnout in physicians who see patients in a clinic setting at least twice in a week, as well as the impacts on patient-physician interaction. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What is the impact of ambient AI scribe use on physician workload and burnout? * What is the impact of ambient AI scribe use on quality of patient-physician interaction? Researchers will compare the group of physicians using the ambient AI scribes to the group not using ambient AI scribes to see if there are any significant differences. Participants randomly assigned to Group A will make use of the AI scribe and participants randomly assigned to Group B will not use any AI scribe for the 10 working day duration of the study. They will be asked to complete a survey assessing workload and burnout immediately prior to the commencement of the study and at the end of each week of the study or 5 full working days for part time physicians. They will also invite their patients to complete a survey assessing their experience after each clinical interaction.

Interventions

Software that records audio of a clinical interaction and generates a clinical note.

Sponsors

University of Saskatchewan
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE

Masking description

Two blinded reviewers will independently review each clinical note and assign a PDQI-9 score according to the nine attributes that measure various aspects of documentation quality.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Physicians from family medicine or any specialty * Physicians who regularly see patients in a clinic setting at least 2 days per week

Exclusion criteria

* Physicians who are planning to leave their practice during the study period

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Physician Workload as Measured Using the NASA Task Load IndexFrom enrolment to the end of the study at 10 working days.The NASA-TLX is separated into six 100-point scales with 5-point steps that assess mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, performance, effort, and frustration. A higher score indicates that they feel a greater degree of each of the domains.
Physician Burnout as Measured Using the MBI - HSS (MP)From enrolment to the end of the study at 10 working days.The MBI-HSS (MP) is created specifically for medical personnel and assesses emotional exhaustion (9 items), depersonalization (5 items), and personal accomplishment (8 items).
Quality of Patient-Physician Interaction As Measured Using the CARE Patient Feedback Measure Domain of Really ListeningThroughout study completion at 10 working days.The CARE measure consists of a series of 10 questions asked of patients with our focus on the domain of whether the physician was really listening (paying close attention to what you were saying; not looking at the notes or computer as you were talking) scored on a 5 point Likert scale.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Documentation Quality as Measured by the PDQI-9From enrollment to the completion of the study at 10 working days.Documentation is scored by two blinded reviewers on a scale from 1-5 (with 5 indicating a higher quality) across 9 domains: up-to-date, accurate, thorough, useful, organized, comprehensible, succinct, synthesized, and internally consistent.
Time Spent Within the EMR for Each Clinical NoteFrom enrollment to the completion of the study at 10 working days.The amount of time spent within the EMR for each clinical note and the amount of time spent editing the note on the ambient AI platform will be tracked using EMR logs and time-tracking tools.
Time Spent in the EMR After HoursFrom enrollment to the completion of the study at 10 working days.The amount of time spent using the EMR after regular working hours will be measured using EMR logs and time-tracking tools.

Contacts

Primary ContactScott Adams, MD, PhD, MEd, FRCPC
scott.adams@usask.ca306-655-2402
Backup ContactSundus Zia
sundus.zia@usask.ca

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026